Christ Raises Lazarus

      No Comments on Christ Raises Lazarus

INTRODUCTION
∗ During the time when this miracle happened, Jesus stood in the shadow of facing the cross.
 The little time, He had in the area beyond Jordan. John picked up the story after he moved back in the area of Jerusalem and His death on the cross was only a few days away.
∗ In those last few days before His death, the scene in John’s Gospel changed from hatred to rejection to an unmistakable and blessed witness of the glory of Christ.
∗ The resurrection of Lazarus is the climatic sign of his Gospel and the capstone of His public ministry. Six miracles have already been presented.
1. Water into wine
2. Healing of the noble man’s son
3. Restoring the impotent man
4. Multiplying the loaves and fishes
5. Walking on the water
6. Healing the born blind∗

THE DISTINCT DIFFERENCE OF THIS MIRACLE 
∗ Though the widow’s son in Nain and Jairus daughter were raised from death, Lazarus’ resurrection was different.
∗ The earlier ones were raised immediately after their death. But Lazarus was after four days from the grave. By then it started decomposing.
∗ Not much was said about Lazarus until this miracle. In fact more people knew about Mary and Martha. So John referred them to introduce Lazarus.
∗ The term endearment in this passage signified a close relationship. Jesus had healed others He had never met; surely He would have come and healed Lazarus who meant so much to Him.
∗ Then why didn’t Jesus come on time? Jesus responded to the disciples’ fear with the image of the safety that daylight offers. The daylight signifies the light.
∗ Who is the light of the heaven and the earth …..?
∗ But in the night a person working would stumble and fall. As long as the disciples are in the presence of light, nothing would go wrong in the way of their mission.
∗ Now again who is the light of the world?
ITS JESUS WHO HAS BEEN SENT BY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON TO BE WITH US  FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

REASONS FOR THE DELAY
 Jesus had deep affection for Lazarus and his sisters, yet He waited for two days to respond to them.
∗ Why did He wait? In hindsight, it’s clear Jesus waited so that Lazarus would be dead, when He would arrive and so Jesus could raise him from the dead.
∗ When Jesus describes Lazarus as asleep, the disciples missed that point. Lazarus was already dead, not asleep and they were charged with Divine mission to heal and not a mandate to escape danger.
∗ In the Jewish tradition, four days was sufficient time to confirm that a person was dead.
As was the custom of the day, the relatives and the neighbours had come to care for Lazarus’ family during the time of grief. In addition, at most funerals the family would hire a funeral band to play sad music as well as professional mourners. That would have meant a larger gathering of people.
∗ Martha said, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. While perhaps not obvious at first, Martha’s comments reflected lack of faith. While she was sure that Jesus would have done something about Lazarus, but then that he was dead. She was sure that  Jesus could do nothing about the situation.
∗ Amid Martha’s and Mary’s grief, the looming question of whether He had waited too long to intervene.

THE GRIEF OF JESUS
Either Jesus was deeply moved or agitated. Why?
1. Might be because he was compassionate.
2. Might be because his endearment on that family.
3. Might be Jesus was weeping with them or the word ‘ troubled’ could indicate that Jesus was upset at the lack of faith he encountered.
4. Mighty be for a fallen world entangled in sin, sorrow and death.

GOD’S GLORY
∗ What is God’s glory, which is in front of us, when we are in trouble?
∗ Is it the great display of grand light show?
 No, it’s completely different.
Jesus was standing in front of the grave, asking the stone to be moved.
 But nobody could imagine the glory of God in such situation.
 Martha struggled to look beyond her circumstances and see the glory of God, as Jesus promised.
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.” 
∗ In this context, glory of God did not refer to grand light show. It’s simply the authentic display of who God is.
∗ Jesus’ prayer of thanks reaffirmed the claim that he had made through out the section of John ‘s Gospel – that he has been sent from heaven and is the physical manifestation of the Father.
“Lazarus, come forth.” What do these words represent?
∗ They represent that God can accomplish anything through speaking, including resurrecting a dead man.
∗ When God created all things, when He created the world, He did so with words.
∗ He used spoken commands, words with authority, and just like that all things were created. It was accomplished like that.
∗ This single line spoken by the Lord Jesus was just like the words spoken by God when He created the heavens and earth and all things; it equally held the authority of God, the ability of the Creator.

Reference :
The grave clothes on Lazarus were typical for that culture. Embalming was not part of Jewish burial customs. The body was typically washed, dressed and wrapped in linen, but it was not put into a coffin. Instead it was carried onto the tomb and left in a prepared place, perhaps a carved shell or a shallow grave. Spices and perfumes were placed in the grave clothes and in the tomb to mitigate the odour of decay. A separate piece of cloth covered the head.

TO CONCLUDE
∗The leaders didn’t deny the miracle of Jesus.
∗ Instead, they were pretty occupied by the large number of people believing in Him.
∗ If Jesus’ popularity went unchecked, the status quo would be threatened.
∗ The more Jews who saw Him as a King, the more likely Roman intervention became.

Let’s pray
Lord, let’s believe You and glorify Your name all the time. Let Your glory shine upon us during the days of sorrows and happiness. Amen.

Bible Reading Linked

Video Linked

Sing Along Linked

 

Share the Article..Share on Facebook0Share on Google+0Tweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest0Share on LinkedIn0Share on StumbleUpon0Digg thisShare on Reddit0Email this to someone

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *