Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Over the years many books have been written, many movies made, and theories taught about ‘life after death’. It’s a subject that fascinates all of us, isn’t it? The past few days we’ve been looking closely at it, while we are eyewitness to a remarkable event which took place just outside a small Israelite town called Bethany, about 2 miles from Jerusalem. The account is given to us in John 11 in the Bible. Jesus is with two women, named Mary and Martha, near a small cave in which they placed the dead body of their brother Lazarus, four days before. Now that should not be too difficult for us to imagine, for we’ve all walked through cemeteries, we’ve all attended funerals shortly after the death of someone we loved. But this is very, very different. Why?
Because Jesus, who is their dear friend, has just said to them: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in ME will live, even though they die, and whoever lives and believes in ME will never die!” (John 11:25,26) It sounds preposterous! The words make no sense. It’s an absolutely illogical, ludicrous statement. Unless! The only way this preposterous statement is even worth consideration is IF the person making the statement is GOD. The God who has all authority and power over life and death! That is where I left you yesterday…contemplating the legitimacy of this preposterous statement when considering WHO said it and WHY?
Look, Jesus is now walking toward the little cave and instructing the people to remove the rock which seals up the opening, preventing any animals from entering and defiling or destroying Lazarus’ dead body, which has been in that cave four days already. Jesus had just finished praying, with His eyes lifted up toward heaven: “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of those standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me.” (John 11:41,42)
No one before had ever had the audacity to out loud declare that Almighty God was their Father! No one before had ever claimed Almighty God had sent them from heaven to earth. When added to His statements declaring He has the power over life and death and that anyone who believed in Him would live forever, there was certainly enough to cause everyone to simply walk away and write Jesus off as a lunatic.
But then Jesus did something the people standing there would remember for the rest of their lives. Jesus shouted at the cave/tomb: “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43) Stunned the people stepped back wondering if Jesus had lost His mind and might become violent? Then a sound was heard from inside the cave. It sounded like a man groaning, maybe struggling. All eyes were riveted on the little cave and what happened next is right out of the horror movies, only it’s true! A man, all wrapped up in grave clothes, was struggling to crawl out of the cave! The women screamed. Some men picked up stones ready to defend themselves.
A few others rushed forward, grabbed the bundle of grave clothes and pulled the man out of the cave. Jesus shouted above the screams and gasps: “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11:43) Quickly men started doing the unthinkable… unwrapping a dead man who was standing up now! Look, even if you’ve never met Lazarus before, his eyes are bright, his smile huge, he’s laughing and shouting at Mary and Martha who he sees standing over there! But they are so shocked they can’t move! Yes, it is their brother, Lazarus. But how can it be? He’s been dead five days at least, now fully alive, waving at them, shouting for them to come to him!
We have no record of what was said, or how long the graveside celebration lasted that day. I’ve often wondered if the people lifted Jesus up onto their shoulders, like athletes do when they’ve won the game, and the MVP of the game is carried around as a hero. What did Lazarus say? How many questions did the people have for him? I imagine Mary and Martha invited Jesus and His disciples to join them at home with Lazarus for dinner and maybe even stay the night. They had so much to ask Jesus about, so much they all wanted to understand!
The record tells us: “Many of the Jews who had seen what Jesus did put their faith in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests called a meeting of the Sanhedrin…” (John 11:45-53) Isn’t that how it so often happens my friends? Some people react to something amazing with celebration, yet others are skeptical and perhaps frustrated at the potential impact and meetings are called to discuss and make a plan. This particular meeting became serious and significant. The Sanhedrin was the ruling body of 72 of the most respected Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem.
Something must be done to stop Jesus, they concluded! “If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our positions of authority and our nation…” Oh, the mistake of decisions made out of fear or greed! This one line summarizes the result of that closed door meeting: “So from that day on they plotted to take His life.” (John 11:53) Jesus went from being the death-defying miracle worker to public enemy #1 with a warrant for His arrest issued.
Meanwhile, back in Bethany, at the home of Mary & Martha, where Jesus and His disciples had so often stopped for a meal and evening of friendship, can you imagine the conversation around the table with resurrected Lazarus eating and talking like he’d been gone a month! I wonder what questions you and I would have asked, my friends, if we would have been at that table that evening?
Jesus had done something beyond description, something unimaginable, something so outrageous I’m sure all the disciples were wondering how they would ever tell this story in the years to come. But the biggest question of all, of course, the question ALL of them, including Martha, Mary and Lazarus were struggling with was this: WHO is this Jesus of Nazareth if He can raise to life a man dead almost a week?
Now look at Lazarus sitting at the dinner table laughing with his friends. NOW do we have a better understanding of what Jesus meant when, earlier that day, standing near the cave/tomb, Jesus had said to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25,26) Jesus is the giver of life when He creates us the first time, and Jesus creates us with soul & spirit that will never die, even though our bodies will someday die. And Jesus, because of HIS death and resurrection provides the ONLY way for any person to spend their eternal life with God! (John 14:6)
Anyone who does NOT believe in Jesus will have eternal life, but their eternity will be spent apart from God in a place prepared for all people, and the demons and Satan…ALL who have refused God’s offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ alone! (John 3:16-19) Years later, as John the disciple, who saw this happen that day, was writing his recollection of this remarkable event, he was led by the Holy Spirit to add this summary statement: “Whoever believes in Jesus the Son of God has eternal life, but whoever rejects Jesus, the Son of God, will not see life for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:36)
Now that, my friends, it is a life and death truth from God that we need to be sure we understand, and receive with clarity, and respond to with certainty. Our eternity depends on our response to Jesus! So, I leave you today pondering the power of what we’ve witnessed and asking yourself the most important question. Have you trusted Jesus to save you from your sin, so your eternity is secure with HIM? Here’s a worship song to help us consider the significance of all this…
Today’s Scripture: John 11:38-53.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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