The remarkable resurrection of Lazarus is told in John 11:1-44 and John's Gospel is the only one to record this event. Lazarus was a brother to Martha and Mary and all three were friends with Jesus. They resided in the town of Bethany which was just east of Jerusalem.
Their brother became ill unto death, yet they were hesitant to send for Jesus because they knew the religious leaders wanted to kill Him and persecute His disciples. At the same time they knew that Jesus had the power to heal their brother, so they sent a message informing Jesus that Lazarus was asleep. Jesus knew the outcome would be the resurrection of Lazarus, so he did not respond to their message other than to tell His disciples that Lazarus' sickness was for the glory of God.
After several days, Jesus then tells His disciples that they would return to Jerusalem. They were concerned for Jesus' safety for their own well-being. After Jesus explained to them that Lazarus was dead and that he was going to "wake" him, Thomas even exclaimed in 11:16 that they would go too and die with Jesus - thus elucidating their fear of the religious leaders.
The declarations of first, Martha, and later, Mary, are identical (v21, 32), "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." What ensues are some of the most powerful words in the Bible demonstrating the power of Jesus. He states in verse 23, "Your brother will rise again." Martha rationalizes, "Yes he will rise in the general resurrection." Then Jesus makes this incredible statement (v. 25), "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying." After expressing His sorrow as a man over the death of His friend and the sorrow of Lazarus' sisters, Jesus then prayed and commanded Lazarus to come back to life. This so disturbed the Pharisees that they swore to kill Jesus and Lazarus (11:53, 12:10).
The lessons for the Christian believer today from this event are clear: We were sick with sin, to the point of death. Our friends and relatives prayed for us asking that Jesus save us from our sin and spiritual death. Only when the Lord knew that we were ready to be raised to new life did He come on the scene. We were saved from sin and had the stench of the world removed from us (symbolized by the grave wrappings). Our conversion and salvation so disturbs the Devil that he relentlessly attempts to drag us back into sin, but to no avail if we are filled with His Holy Spirit.
May God bless you and bless the reading of His Word.
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