John 11:1-46: “Jesus Raises Lazarus
From The Dead / Jesus Is The Resurrection And The Life”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at verses 22-42 of chapter 10.
1.1.1. We saw that Jesus completed what has been called His
Public Ministry, which makes up the first half of His ministry. We saw that after chapter 10, Jesus
disappears from public life and begins His Private Ministry where He will
concentrate on ministering to individuals.
1.1.2. Jesus went up to the Feast of Dedication at the temple
in Jerusalem and entered into yet another argument with the Jews after they
asked Him how long that He would keep them in suspense and not tell them
plainly who He is. Jesus explained to
them yet again that their problem in understanding who He is occurred because
they really do not want to know the truth about Him.
1.2.
In our
study today, we are going to look at verses 1-46 of chapter 11.
1.2.1. Jesus’ public ministry has now ceased (John 1-10)
after His last confrontation with the Jews at the
1.2.2. Jesus receives a request from sisters Mary and Martha
of
1.2.3. We will see that this miracle of raising Lazarus from
the dead was the greatest of all of Jesus’ miracles.
1.2.3.1.In the previous miracles of Jesus where He raised
someone from the dead, the person had just died, and thus though Jesus’ miracle
is great there could be speculation that the person had not died but merely was
resuscitated by Jesus.
1.2.3.2.However, in the case of Lazarus his body had been the
tomb for four days and significant decay and putrification must have occurred
before Jesus raised him from the dead.
2.
VS
11:1 - “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of
2.1.
Now the stage for the “final controversy” is to
be set. With the raising of Lazarus from
the dead, the plot to kill Jesus by the Pharisees will be formally begun and
eventually carried out.
2.2.
This incident in our story took place just a couple of
weeks before the Passover, where Jesus will be crucified. Bethany was a village just two miles away
from Jerusalem, and Jesus seems to have a very fond affection for the family of
Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, who lived there.
Jesus feels at home at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
2.3.
There is
another Lazarus mentioned in the gospels than this one. That Lazarus was a poor beggar and is
referenced by Jesus when He compares a rich man who died and went to Hades
verses the poor beggar Lazarus who died and went to Abraham’s Bosom. This Lazarus
of our story though is a man of means who has a home and evidently has two
doting sisters living with him.
2.4.
In chapter 12 of John, we have the story of Mary
anointing the feet of Jesus with very costly perfume, and washing His feet with
her hair.
2.5.
Luke also writes of an incident where Jesus comes to
supper at the home of Mary and Martha, and Martha spends the time while Jesus
is there preparing food to impress Jesus, while Mary sits at Jesus feet
listening to Him. Martha comes and
complains to Jesus because she was working so hard trying to prepare a meal for
Jesus while her sister Mary is just sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to
Him. Jesus ends up rebuking Martha
telling her that Mary had chosen the better thing to do. The lesson being that its much more important
to worship the Lord than to fail to worship Him because you are so caught up in
the work of ministry.
2.6.
Martha is a very active and gregarious person, Mary is
a very quiet person who has a very deep devotion to the Lord. Martha seems to always be rebuking and
counseling the Lord, and every story about Mary in the gospels finds her at
Jesus’ feet.
2.7.
Martha is thought to be the home owner, and it is
thought that Lazarus may be young, as he is never written of as doing any work.
3.
VS 11:3-4 - “The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom
You love is sick’. But when Jesus heard
it, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that
the Son of God may be glorified by it’.” - Lazarus’ sisters send word to Jesus and tell
Him that Lazarus is sick, but Jesus states that Lazarus’ sickness is not unto
death but for the glory of God and the Son of God
3.1.
The sisters of Lazarus send for Jesus, saying that the
one whom He loved (fileo) is sick. They
used the Greek word for friendship love, and therefore we know that Jesus had a
strong friendship love for Lazarus and His sisters. It is wonderful to see in the gospels that
Jesus was such a relational guy and how greatly He loved others. Not only does John tell us that Mary and
Martha tell Jesus that Lazarus was one who Jesus loved, but John the apostle
(the author of this gospel) writes of himself calling himself, “the disciple
whom Jesus’ loved.’
3.2.
Note that these sisters don’t ask Jesus to do anything
for Lazarus, they just inform Him of Lazarus’ health and remind Jesus of His
love for Lazarus. They knew, as Jesus’
mother knew when she merely let Him know that the wine was out at the wedding,
that to let Jesus know of a real need, was enough for Jesus always responded to
real needs!
3.3.
The language used in this message to Jesus suggests
that Lazarus is on his sickbed and fading fast.
In other words, Lazarus has a very serious life threatening
illness.
3.4.
One of the
things that you observe in the gospels is that Jesus had a habit of ruining
funerals. In fact in the gospels every
time it is recorded that Jesus came across someone who had just died, we find
that Jesus raised the person from the dead.
When Jesus came across the widow of Nain’s procession carrying her dead
son (Luke 7), Jesus raised the boy from the dead. When Jesus came to the house of Jairus (Luke
8) and his daughter had just died, He raised the girl from the dead. When Jesus comes to the tomb at
3.5.
It is obvious that by the time the news had come to
Jesus of Lazarus being sick that Lazarus had already died. This is because Jesus waited two days to come
to Lazarus, and the trip to
3.6.
Jesus also knew that Lazarus was already dead as He
states at this time that the sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God. Jesus knew from the beginning that He would
come and raise Lazarus from the dead.
3.7.
In our lives, nothing ever takes the Lord by
surprise. Rather, He knows what He will
do even before the situation occurs, or we pray for His help.
4.
VS
11:5-6 - “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister,
and Lazarus. When therefore He heard
that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer
in the place where He was.” - John records
for us that Jesus loved this family and that He intentionally stayed where He
was at for two days before heading to
4.1.
John writes that Jesus loved (agapao) Lazarus (and his
sisters). Jesus love was unconditional
and self-sacrificing, looking out for the best interests of Lazarus, and based upon
a decision and commitment not just upon friendship, as the Greek word “fileo”
implies.
4.2.
Notice here that it states that Jesus loved Lazarus
and then immediately states that he waited for two days before coming to
Lazarus. You would think that if Jesus
really loved Lazarus that He would have come quickly to Lazarus’ side at this
point, but actually the opposite is true.
4.3.
We need to realize at the outset here that it was
because of Jesus’ great love for the family that He waited for the two
days. You see, Jesus wanted to do more
than just raise Lazarus from the dead, He wanted to give this family hope for
eternal life that would change their lives forever. Jesus also wanted to impart to them great
faith so that in the future that would trust Him with every area of their
lives.
4.4.
Jesus also wanted to reveal to all a very important
lesson and that is that one day He would resurrect to life every single person
who has ever lived, for He is the resurrection and the life.
4.5.
When we pray to the Lord for His help in matters, He
may be delaying His answer to us so that He can do a greater work than we can
conceive or see the need for at the time.
Jesus wants to teach us to trust Him more greatly and that nothing will
be impossible for Him, and this knowledge and patient trust in Him has to come
by Him delaying in answering our prayers.
Jesus’ causing us to wait will occur because of His love for us, just as
was the case in the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
5.
VS 11:7-10 - “Then
after this He said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to
5.1.
After the two days of waiting, upon hearing that
Lazarus was sick, Jesus initiates going to
5.2.
By Jesus saying the word ‘again’ in verse 7, I
believe that He is testing His disciples because He knows that they are now
fearful not only for His life at the hand of the religious rulers, but also
their very own lives. However, Jesus
wants His disciples to learn that a follower of His has to learn to do what is
right before God and please God, regardless of the consequences in this life of
doing so.
5.3.
When the disciples object to Jesus going up to
Jerusalem because the Jewish leaders were now openly trying to kill Him, Jesus
answers that what is important is walking in God’s light, and the only time one
will stumble in life is when he chooses instead to walk in the darkness.
5.3.1.
This word from Jesus is one that we as Christians
ought to take to heart. We should never
be afraid when we are doing the things that the Lord wants us to be doing. Fear paralyzes many Christians from being a
bold witness for the Lord but we should not be paralyzed by fear when we are
doing God’s will and taking a stand for Him, and there are always consequences
for taking a stand for Jesus.
5.3.2.
‘Death,
sickness, or poverty, none are a true cause of stumbling, nor should they be
avoided, if it is the light of God that is leading us into them.’ As did
Jesus, we Christians should not fear
anything that God’s light leads into our life.
However, if we choose to walk instead in the darkness, then we shall do
nothing but stumble, and we have much we should be afraid of, but mostly we
should be afraid of God. Jesus taught in
Matt. 10:28 the only kind of fear that we should have, “And fear not them
which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him
which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
6.
VS 11:11-13 - “This
He said, and after that He said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen
asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him
out of sleep’. The disciples therefore
said to Him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover’. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, they
thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.” -
Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep, however Jesus’
disciples think that Jesus is referring to sleeping as in getting physical rest
6.1.
To the Lord, the death of His people is considered to
be ‘sleep,’ and this term for the death of God’s saints only is used
many places in the Old and New Testaments.
6.2.
Death implies annihilation and the souls of men can
never die. Before Jesus resurrection,
God’s servants went to Abraham’s Bosom, the wicked went to a place of torment
called Hades. In Abraham’s Bosom, men
waited for the resurrection of life to be with the Lord, and in the place of
torment, Hades, they waited for the Great Throne Judgment of unbelievers for
everlasting destruction.
6.3.
Jesus is going to awaken (or call) Lazarus out of
Abraham’s Bosom, back into his physical body and life. The disciples thought that Jesus meant that
Lazarus had merely fallen asleep, and that there was nothing to worry about
because he would wake up soon.
6.4.
Death is sleep for God’s people also because sleep
speaks of resting and peace, of being rejuvenated for another day, of natural
healing that occurs within the body, and because death for God’s people is just
a passage straight into the Lord’s presence and blessing.
6.5.
When Jesus spoke of Lazarus as having fallen asleep He
was referring to the fact that Lazarus had died, however we see here that
Jesus’ disciples thought that Jesus was just referring to physical sleep or
rest.
7.
VS 11:14-15 - “Then
Jesus therefore said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your
sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him’.” - Jesus tells His disciples plainly that
Lazarus is dead and then tells them that He is glad this is true for their
sakes so that they might believe.
7.1.
Jesus corrects His disciples’ mistaken conclusion
about Lazarus merely having fallen asleep, saying, ‘Lazarus is dead.’
7.2.
Jesus says also that He is glad that He had not been
there to heal Lazarus, so that now He can raise Lazarus from the dead and thus
increase the disciples’ faith.
7.3.
Jesus raised the son of the widow from Nain previous
to this. He had also raised Jairus’
daughter from the dead. However, in both
cases the person had just died, and some could argue that the person had just
merely been resuscitated. In the case of
Lazarus however, Jesus raises a man who had been entombed for four days. This miracle demonstrated that Jesus had the
power to resurrect all of the dead, which He will do at the last day!
8.
VS 11:16 - “Thomas
therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his
fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with Him’.” - Thomas, one of the twelve, tells his fellow
disciples that they ought to go with Jesus so that they could die with Jesus
8.1.
In the gospel stories, Thomas is always found having a
hard time believing in Jesus. In this
verse, Thomas is very gloomy and pessimistic, and says that they ought to go
and die along with Jesus.
8.2.
Once Thomas’ faith is reassured when he places his hands
into Jesus’ wounds (after the resurrection), he is found to be a man of great
devotion, falling down at Jesus’ feet worshipping Him, calling Him, ‘My Lord
and My God.’ I believe that after
this point that our man Thomas went on to become a great man of faith, and
isn’t it the case for each of us as believers that God has to virtually allow
us to see the dead raised in order for us to truly begin to live by faith as we
should?
8.3.
I wonder though if all of Jesus’ disciples were very fearful
of going back into
9.
VS 11:17 - “So
when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.” - When Jesus comes to Lazarus He finds out that
Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days
9.1.
In the
Frankenstein movie the monster has his flesh reanimated by Dr. Frankenstein
after the monster has been dead for some time, however in real life apart from
the miraculous intervention of God such a thing is never going to occur.
9.2.
After four days in the tomb, there was no possibility
in the natural realm of life returning to a body and it being restored to health.
9.3.
I don’t
mean to be gross here, but Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days and after
four days a human body goes through all kinds of changes as it decays. Rigor Mortis begins setting in within 3 hours
and is completed within 12 hours. After just
a few hours Livor Mortis sets in (Hypostasis) where the blood pools and
discolors the skin. Within minutes the
cornea films over and the whites of the eyes turn grey. After one day the eyes go opague and after
three days they are bulging. After 2-3
days the abdomen has been stained green and the body has swelled up
significantly. After 3-4 days the veins
have marbled into a browny black color.
By 4 days the eggs of a number of insects and flies have been laid and
hatched in the body and their larvae are well along the way of eating away the
flesh of the body. The body would have
begun to produce a great stench after the first day being dead.
10.
VS 11:18-19 - “Now
10.1.
Jewish mourners had come and they would normally spend
perhaps a week or more at the house with those who had lost a family member.
10.2.
The role of the Jewish mourner was basically to wail
with the mourner and thereby comfort them at the death of a loved one.
11.
VS 11:20 - “Martha
therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him; but Mary still sat in the house.” - Martha ran out to meet Jesus when she heard
that He had come, however Mary remained in the house
11.1.
Jesus had come directly to the tomb where Lazarus had
been buried not to the house where Lazarus had lived, and Martha ran out to
meet Him.
11.2.
In the traditions of the Jews, Martha and Mary should
have not gone out of the house for one full week after the death of
Lazarus. However, Martha was more the
impetuous type, and upon hearing that Jesus was coming, she immediately ran out
to Lazarus’ tomb to meet Jesus. Yet,
Mary stayed at their home.
12.
VS
11:21-22 - “Martha therefore said to Jesus, ‘Lord,
if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God,
God will give You’.” - Martha tells
Jesus that if He had just been there that Lazarus would not have died, however
she tells Him that she knows that even now if He were to ask of God and that
God would give Him whatever He asked for
12.1.
Martha has been described by one commentator as being
a female version of Peter. Being the
gregarious, social type, of person, she was very impetuous. She seems to constantly complain and rebuke
Jesus.
12.2.
Luke records in chapter 10 of his gospel that Jesus
was invited over for dinner at the house of Mary and Martha, and at that time
Martha complained to Jesus that He should command Mary to stop sitting at His
feet listening to Him, and help her with her preparations. Jesus rebuked Martha however because she
should have been like Mary and chosen to do what was more important: sit at His feet.
12.3.
Here, Martha runs up to Jesus and immediately either
rebukes Him for not coming sooner or simply tells Him that if He had just come
sooner that her brother would still be alive and not have died.
12.4.
Martha didn’t have enough faith to realize that Jesus
didn’t have to be with her in order to perform miraculous works, and He could
raise men from the grave no matter where He was nor how long the person had
been dead.
12.5.
Martha does have a glimpse of the faith that she
should have as she says that even now she knows that God will give to Jesus
whatever He asked of Him. However, she
does not have the faith at this point to believe that Jesus can raise Lazarus
from the dead, as the story will reveal from her actions.
12.6.
So many times, we Christians are like Martha in that
we lack faith and believe that God must be asleep or somehow unaware of what is
going on. Worse yet, sometimes we
conclude that because of something that He has allowed to happen, He must not
really care about us. The fact is, He
has heard our cries for His help and understands our situation, however He has
a much bigger plan in mind for us than we with our short-sightedness
realize. He wants to something much
greater in our life just as He does in raising Lazarus from the dead.
12.7.
Remember, because Jesus doesn’t answer your prayer in
your time frame, doesn’t mean that He won’t answer you in the proper timing.
12.8.
So often we become the Lord’s counselor, when it is He
who knows best, and from whom we need counsel, for He is God.
13.
VS 11:23-24 - “Jesus
said to her, ‘Your brother shall rise again’.
Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection
on the last day’.” - Jesus tells
Martha that Lazarus will raise again, and Martha replies that she knows that he
will rise during the resurrection
13.1.
Jesus uses this opportunity to teach a truth of
greater importance than the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus will resurrect all of the dead by the
power which He has.
13.2.
Jesus simply tells Martha that her brother will rise
again. This isn’t good enough for her
however, and she wants Jesus to raise her brother from the dead, so she says
that she knows that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last
day. There is a question that Martha
wants to ask but she can’t bring herself to ask it. She wants to know if Jesus is saying that He
will raise her brother now, but she fears asking the question because her faith
is so small.
13.3.
Notice here in Jesus’ dealings with Mary and Martha
that He gradually reveals His plans as they are able to comprehend what He is
intending to do. The Lord always leads
us in our faith never giving us more than we can handle or teaching us more
than we can comprehend.
14.
VS 11:25-26 - “Jesus
said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” - Jesus tells Martha that He is the
resurrection and the life and that whoever believes in Him will never die
14.1.
To have Jesus in your life is to have Him who has all
of the power and the authority to raise people from the dead.
14.2.
Jesus knows that Martha does not yet have the faith to
believe that He can raise Lazarus from the dead, so He asks her if she believes
that the one who believes in Him shall never die?
14.3.
There was a man once who had written on his
gravestone, after his death, that if anyone was looking for him, that he was
not there. In fact, he wasn’t even dead,
he was more alive than he had ever been, for He was right there with Jesus at
this very moment.
15.
VS 11:27 - “She
said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I have believed
that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world’.” - Martha tells Jesus that she has believed that
He is the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world
15.1.
Martha’s confession of Jesus comes a little short of
believing that Jesus can raise her brother who has been dead for four
days. However, her confession is every
bit as powerful and accurate as that given by Peter on another occasion.
15.2.
But, we know that Martha has now gotten the fact that
Jesus is going to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead because of what she
does next.
16.
VS 11:28-31 - “And
when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister, saying
secretly, ‘The teacher is here, and is calling for you’. And when she had said this, she arose
quickly, and was coming to Him. Now
Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where
Martha met Him. The Jews then who were
with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saws that Mary rose up
quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to
weep there.” - Martha went
away and called Mary to come with her to the tomb
16.1.
Evidently more conversation occurred than what is
recorded, because Martha tells Mary that Jesus had asked for her to come to
Lazarus’ tomb.
16.2.
Can you
imagine Martha running back to her home to get her sister Mary to come to the
tomb so that she can witness Jesus raise their brother from the dead. I just imagine that every step the adrenaline
is coursing through her body in anticipation of a miracle soon to occur of the
greatest magnitude, as well as the joyous reunion with her beloved brother.
16.3.
Martha told Mary this message in secret so that the
Jewish mourners would not hear and follow her, however they do this anyway as
they think that she is running off to go to the grave to wail.
17.
VS 11:32 - “Therefore,
when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to
Him, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died’.” - When Mary approached Jesus she fell at His feet
and told Him that if He had been there that her brother would not have died
17.1.
As I had said earlier, Mary is continually found in
the gospels, at Jesus feet. Here she
falls at Jesus feet in adoration, worship, and submission.
17.1.1.We Christians ought to be like Mary, and
fall or sit often at His feet. We ought
to be people of such devotion as was this woman who is always seen in the
gospels at the feet of Jesus.
17.2.
Mary says the same words as Martha, however some
believe that she does not same them with rebuke or correction, but in
sorrow. However in substance she does
not state anything that Martha did not state and she also does not yet have
faith to believe that Jesus does not need to be present in order to perform any
miracle. Mary believes that if Jesus had
only come sooner, her brother would be among the living now.
18.
VS 11:33 - “When
Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in
spirit, and was troubled.” - Jesus was moved
in spirit and troubled when He saw the Jews also weeping with Mary at the loss
of Lazarus
18.1.
The Greek says literally, “Jesus troubled Himself
greatly.” We need to ask the
question, ‘What was it that Jesus was troubled about?’
18.1.1.First of all, Jesus was troubled because
He was moved with compassion at the grieving of Mary and any of those sincerely
sorrowful about the death of Lazarus.
18.1.2.Secondly, I think Jesus must have been
troubled because it was the sin of man which brought about death. All of the grief and suffering He was seeing
was the result of sin.
18.1.3.Jesus may also have been troubled
because there may have been a lot of insincerity and hypocrisy in the hearts of
these professional mourners wailing at the loss of Lazarus.
18.2.
We must realize from this story that Jesus was
genuinely moved by compassion at the suffering of all men. In this instance, although Jesus knew that He
was in mere moments going to raise Lazarus from the dead and dry every tear in
the act, He still was deeply moved by the suffering of Mary and Martha, at
least.
19.
VS 11:34 - “and
said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They
said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see’.” - Jesus asks
where they have laid Lazarus, and they bring Jesus to the tomb where Jesus was
buried
19.1.
This scripture is very significant, because it is one
of the few places in scripture where Jesus asked for information, and we know
from the gospels that Jesus really never needed to ask for information to know
what was going on. Had Jesus constantly
been pumping people for information, or as we mortals do, constantly coming to
wrong conclusions, how differently might the gospels be read by people
today. Because Jesus did not need to ask
for information about any situation, we know that He was in fact God, and was
filled with all of the fullness of godhead bodily.
19.2.
Jesus did not ask this question because He needed
someone to tell Him where they laid him.
Rather, He asked it so that they might take Him to the tomb and there He
would raise Lazarus. It was for their sakes
that Jesus asks where Lazarus has been laid!
20.
VS 11:35-36 - “Jesus
wept. And so the Jews were saying,
‘Behold how He loved him!’” - Jesus wept
causing the crowd to remark about the degree to which Jesus loved Lazarus
20.1.
Jesus wept, but why did He weep. The answer is similar
to the one given for the reasons why He troubled Himself in verse 33 of this
chapter.
20.2.
Jesus did not weep because He loved Lazarus, He knew
He was in an instant going to raise him from the dead. Jesus wept because He was moved with
compassion for the grief of those grieving over Lazarus.
20.3.
Jesus shares our sorrows and grief today, even though
He also knows how He will one day dry every tear from our eyes. Still, He weeps when we weep, etc. Paul wrote in Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we do
not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who
has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to
the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in
time of need.”
21.
VS
11:37 - “But some of them said, ‘Could not this man, who opened the eyes of
him who was blind, have kept this man also from dying?’”
- Some asked the question of whether or
not Jesus could kept this man from dying?
21.1.
It appears that some of the Jewish mourners railed Him
just as those who railed Him while upon the cross, ‘He saved others, let Him
save Himself.’ However, it is
possible that they were sincere in what they said.
22.
VS 11:38 - “Jesus
therefore again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying
against it.” - John again
states that Jesus was deeply moved within as He came to Lazarus
22.1.
This is the same verbiage as in verse 33, ‘Jesus
troubled Himself greatly.’
23.
VS 11:39 - “Jesus
said, ‘Remove the stone’. Martha, the
sister of the deceased, said to Him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be a
stench, for he has been dead four
days’.” - Jesus tells them to remove
the stone, but Martha comments that if they do this that there will be a big
stench by this time
23.1.
Martha again corrects Jesus, trying to keep Him from
making a big mistake! She is afraid that
after being in the tomb four days after dying, that Lazarus will stink
terribly.
23.2.
Though the stench from Lazarus’ body is not recorded
when they move away the stone from his tomb we have to believe that there must
have been a horrible odor, however one which Jesus transformed merely by the
power of His word.
24.
VS 11:40-42 - “Jesus
said to her, ‘Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of
God?’ And so they removed the
stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and
said, ‘Father, I thank Thee that Thou heardest Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I
said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me’.” - Jesus tells Martha to remember that He had
told her that if she believed that she would see the glory of God, then they
remove the stone and Jesus prays to the Father about what He is going to do
24.1.
Jesus required the faith of Martha in order to perform
this miracle of resurrection. In many of
Jesus’ miracles He required the recipient to believe that he/she would be
healed before He performed the healing.
24.2.
The people at the tomb removed the stone in faith,
believing Jesus’ word that He would raise Lazarus from the dead.
24.3.
Then, Jesus prays out loud to the Father, saying that
He is only praying so that the people might believe and know that the Father always hears Him. Jesus had unending fellowship with the
Father, and the Father answered every one of Jesus prayers. They were always in unison in their desires,
both being persons of the Trinity.
25.
VS 11:43 - “And
when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come
forth’.” - When Jesus had quit praying
He commanded Lazarus to come forth from the dead
25.1.
The diviners and magicians of those days muttered
unintelligible things to themselves, and none knew what they were saying. This way they would not be accountable to the
people if they were to say that they were performing any miracle. However, Jesus raises His voice so that all
could hear, and so that they would know that He was now going to raise Lazarus
from the dead.
25.2.
It appears that Lazarus may already have been alive at
this point, for Jesus calls him by name and simply commands him to come out of
the tomb.
25.3.
Someone once said that if Jesus hadn’t said, ‘Lazarus,
come forth,’ but simply had said, “Come forth,” that every person who
had ever lived would have been resurrected at that moment, and I have to
believe that is true. One day Jesus will
speak the word and the dead will be resurrected.
25.4.
Actually, the resurrection for believers will occur at
the Rapture of the church when we are caught up in the air with Him (see 1
Thessalonians 4:15-17), and there will be a second resurrection for
non-believers at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ when the dead are
raised prior to the Great White Throne Judgment of Christ (see Rev. 20:4-15). Daniel 12:2 tells us that there will be a
resurrection of the righteous as well as a resurrection of the unrighteous.
26.
VS 11:44 - “He
who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a
cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him,
and let him go’.” - Lazarus came
forth bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped with a cloth
26.1.
If Lazarus was bound about each limb individually with
the mummification wrap, then it may have not been too difficult to walk. However, if Lazarus had been wrapped with one
overall wrap, then his ability to walk out of the tomb was also
miraculous. In either case, the raising
of Lazarus from the dead was something only God could have done.
26.2.
Lazarus was unable in any case to remove his wrappings
from his face and body, so Jesus asked some of them to unbind him and let him
go.
26.3.
Can you imagine this scene, the tears of sorrow turned
into tears of joy, the joyous reunion with the brother, the swelling of faith
in and love for Jesus? Paul wrote to the
Thessalonians telling them about the fact that one day there is also going to
be a joyous reunion with all of those who have died and gone to the with the
Lord, after the resurrection of believers.
26.4.
This was the final and most awesome of Jesus’
miracles, and proves beyond a doubt that Jesus is who He claimed He was, and
that He is truly God and truly man.
27.
VS 11:45-46 - “Many
therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done
believed in Him. But some of them went
away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done.” - John tells us that at this time that many
believed in Him, and, many went away to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus
had done
27.1.
The effect of Jesus’ miracles to observers is amazing
in itself. Some believed in Him, and
others saw nothing. Here some who were
untouched by the miracle, went and told the Pharisees about it so that they
could put a stop to Jesus.
28.
CONCLUSIONS:
28.1.
When you
pray to the Lord and He does not answer just remember that just because He
doesn’t answer in your time does not mean that He will not answer in the proper
time
28.2.
Also, when
you pray and the Lord does not answer right away remember that in time you will
see that the Lord has a much greater plan in answering your prayer than you can
conceive where you are merely making your request to Him.
28.3.
Don’t fear
the consequences of doing what is right before the Lord, and the leading of the
Lord.
28.4.
Know that
one day this same Jesus is going to resurrect from the dead every person who
has ever lived, both the righteous and the unrighteous. Are you ready for that day? Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If not, its time to commit your way in Him
and trust on Him and His work on Calvary to forgive you of your sins and give
you the free gift of eternal life.