John 11:28-44 Jesus and Death, the Last Enemy“
And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”
Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”
Lazarus Raised from the Dead
Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 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.”
Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
I must say that Martha is my kind of gal! While Mary sits weeping in the house, Martha boldly confronts Jesus: “Why didn’t you come sooner? Sure, we believe in a resurrection, but who knows when that will happen?” Then Martha goes in the house and informs Mary that Jesus has come and is asking for her.
“Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary confronts Jesus about the delay between his receiving the message and his arrival.
“Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” Verse 35 “Jesus wept” is the shortest verse in the entire Bible, but it is an important one. Many times, we think Jesus must have been impervious to pain, unmoved by human emotions. But Jesus is both Son of God and son of man and God has given people emotions; therefore, it is quite reasonable that Jesus would be grief-stricken.
Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus is tempted to grieve for Lazarus along with Mary and Martha; however, he has another work to accomplish.
Jesus comes to the tomb and commands that the stone be rolled away from the mouth of the cave where Lazarus has been buried. Ever practical, Martha warns that by now the body will be rotting and the smell will be intolerable. But Jesus insists, and the stone is removed.
“And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
The miracle is complete, Lazurus has come back to life, and people are tearing off the graveclothes as fast as possible, weeping for joy as they do so. Earlier, Jesus raised a young man in Nain from the dead, so why has he handled this situation differently?
Jesus wants us to know that even when all hope is gone, HE is the One who controls life and death. Although God the Father has already given Jesus that power, when Jesus rises from the dead, he will have complete power over death, hell, and the grave.
What does this story mean for us? Many times, we feel called into a situation, only to encounter one roadblock after another. At such times, it is tempting to give up, making the excuse that we must not have heard God properly. At such times, we need to remember Hudson Taylor, Founder of the China Inland Mission, “There are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”
Taylor is further quoted as having said, “All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them.” And, he added, “Perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our own imagined strength.” So, the three stages are God’s work from man’s perspective: impossible—difficult—done. But the men and women witnessing this tide turn are not spectators or armchair critics—they are men and women of faith. Faith is not a warm, upward thought. Rather faith is action displayed and lived out in the arena of our days to the glory of God and the advance of His Gospel. Paul described his preaching, teaching, travel—and jail trips in between—as hard labor energized by God, “Struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29). Therefore, faith is speaking and writing for the sake of the Gospel. It is working and risking. It is winning and losing. It is going and not always returning. It is asking, seeking, and knocking. It’s what Jesus said “moves mountains.” https://www.challies.com/articles/beginning-with-impossible/
It’s quite possible that Jesus didn’t want to stay away from Lazarus when he first received the message; however, God the Father instructed him to do so. Jesus was always in contact with God the Father, taking orders from Him. If we want our efforts to bear fruit, we too must remain in constant contact with our Heavenly Father, for only then will our work be effective.
When Lazarus came out of the grave, he was wrapped in grave clothes designed to hold his rotting body in place. But those graveclothes only hindered the movements of Lazarus once he came back to life. Today, are you allowing old beliefs, old prejudices, old assumptions, the opinions of others, and any other blighted thing to wrap around your heart and mind like the graveclothes? May God help all of us so that we throw off those things that bind us and follow Him!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have allowed our stinking thinking and the judgments of others to bind us so that we can’t do Your Will. We repudiate these things and ask that You help us to walk free into Your glorious future. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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