30Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him.31When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there.32When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.34“Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”35Then Jesus wept.36The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”37But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.39“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
40Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”41So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.42You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”43Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”44And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
Can you possibly imagine such a scene? How incredibly powerful and awesome. To see someone who has been dead for four days walk out of his grave. The people who were there witnessed something so powerful they surely were forced to wonder and ponder what sort of man this Jesus was. And imagine what became of Lazarus? Everywhere he went people would have heard the story and looked at him and wondered. His simple presence and the telling of his story would have caused many others to ponder what sort of man this Jesus was.
We can learn so much from this story. When Lazarus was first alive, he was loved by Jesus, but there is no indication he was bring people to Jesus and no mention of him. Then he died and that all changed. Have you died to your own life? I know I have in some ways, but there are plenty of things in my life that need to go to the grave. Jesus called Lazarus forth and Lazarus answered the call. Jesus is calling you and me…are we stepping forward? Jesus ordered Lazarus to be unwrapped and set free. He is ordering us to be free from sin and start living our new life.
Lastly, as I said earlier, everywhere Lazarus went he was now a walking testimony to Jesus. His new life caused many to ponder what sort of man this Jesus was. Does our new lives in Christ cause others to ponder just what sort of man this Jesus is?
Lord, change me so much that my life causes others to ponder just what sort of person you are. *obbs*
