LEARNING DAILY

 

John 11:43, Now when He had said these things, He cried in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

 

I have some random thoughts about this week in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been thinking about the resurrection which led me to think about Jesus telling Lazarus to come out of the grave. “The miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection was a sign pointing to Jesus as he is the resurrection and the life. It was a demonstration of what God will do for all believers who have died, for they too will be raised from the dead (John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)” (LSSB). I have also read or heard someone say Jesus had to call Lazarus by name so that all the dead would not be raised.

 

There is another verse in the story of Lazarus that is important for us to understand. Whenever I had to memorize a Bible verse for Sunday School, I always chose it. John 11:35 says, “Jesus wept. “Can I tell you that these two words tell you how that the Lord Jesus Christ understands and feels the sorrow you and I feel. The word wept indicates that Jesus burst into tears and wept over the death of His friend. He feels the same sympathy for us when we experience sorrow. Comforting isn’t it! Jesus loves you and me that much!

 

When Lazarus died, his body was washed, perfumed, and wrapped with linen; spices were placed between the layers of linen. His body was then placed in a stone cave and a large stone enclosed the mouth of the cave. This rock sealed the cave against predators and took several men to place it there. By the time Jesus got there, Lazarus had been dead for four days. At the tomb, He wanted the stone to be removed, telling the sisters of Lazarus to trust in Him.  It was at this point that “He cried in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” Come forth can best be translated, “Get out of there!” (DJSB).

 

It is at this point my ”sanctified imagination” (borrowed from Dr. Ed Newton) takes over. The spirit of Lazarus was in heaven. What was he doing while there for four days? I’m wondering if he was hanging out with Daniel or the prophets or maybe with Solomon or Gideon or Samson! And then, he hears Jesus calling his name. “Lazarus.” “What? Jesus?” “Lazarus come forth.” And the next thing he finds himself doing is standing up and walking out of the tomb. Now walking is not the right term – remember he is wrapped with layers of linen. So, I’m guessing he must have shuffled as best he could. I have heard a speaker say that there were steps down into the cave. If that was so, imagine the difficulty of “shuffling” up steps as well. Don’t forget that his face was wrapped in the cloth as well and that adds to the difficulty of all this.

 

What is the point today? Jesus was showing His power over death and also pointing to His own resurrection. There were Jewish people there who witnessed this resurrection. Many believed in who Jesus was. This was also the final issue that caused Jewish leaders to be more determined to put Jesus to death. It is important for you and me to consider what the resurrection of Lazarus means about eternal life. When Jesus died God resurrected Him, gave Him a new glorified body. As Christians, when we die, we will be very much alive in heaven to never die again. We too will have a new glorified body.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.