Quote for the Day
“Lazarus, come forth!”
Today's Prayer
Father, reveal yourself to me, open my eyes to you.
John 11:30-44
John 11:30-44 (NIV)30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.35 Jesus wept.36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Message
Before Jesus made the powerful statement above He had to address Martha one-on-one and also the crowd that was there. He needed to clarify His purpose. He had just discussed with Martha His power over death and tried to help her understand that He had power over both today and forever and that this power was not merely theory. Yet just a few minutes later she needed convincing that the stone covering the grave should be removed. Martha was worried about the stench of a body being dead for four days; Jesus was reminding her that this was a trivial issue given His authority over life and death.With regard to the rest of the crowd, Jesus needed to be sure they understood the reason for the resurrection of Lazarus. This was not an act of power, pride, or ego. It was the will of the Father to show those who had questioned the relationship between the Father and the Son. Listen to the prayer of Jesus to the Father in verses 41 and 42; “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”Once Martha knew the reason for this resurrection, that she and others would see the glory of God, and the crowd saw the relationship between the Father and the Son, the simple yet profound and powerful statement could be made, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he did.