JOHN 11:17-44 — On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him…
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.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “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.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “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.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 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.”
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Two middle-aged men were having their Saturday morning coffee. After the usual small talk about the weather and the Minnesota Twins, the tone of the conversation turned a bit more serious.
“How have you been feeling lately, Mike,” asked one of the men.
“Oh,” replied the other man, “I’m always weak and sick for a few days after I have my chemotherapy treatments, but then I’m okay again for a couple of weeks.”
“Are the treatments helping?” asked the first man. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Well,” replied Mike slowly and thoughtfully, “the doctor says he can slow the cancer down a bit, but he probably can’t get rid of it. He gives me a year, maybe two if I’m lucky.”
“Oh… Sorry to hear that, Mike,” said the first man. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m okay so far,” Mike said. “There is one good thing about it, though. I’m not as worried about my retirement pension as I used to be.” There was a brief pause, and then Mike started chuckling, and soon, both men were laughing.
What does it mean to be able to laugh in the face of death like that? It might only mean that Mike is putting up a good front. Perhaps he’s not doing very well at all, but he doesn’t want to talk about it, and so he makes light of it. Perhaps he is in denial. Or perhaps Mike has a faith that has made him ready to die, and so he can laugh about not needing his pension anymore. Maybe he believes the Easter story about Christ’s resurrection from the dead, and truly believes in Christ’s promise that we too may rise and live forever.
During his ministry on earth, Jesus raised three people from the dead. One of these was his friend Lazarus. The story is told in John chapter 11 and ends with Lazarus coming out of the tomb. Jesus had commanded that the stone be rolled away. Lazarus’ sister objected, saying “Lord, the body has been in there for four days already, and there is sure to be an odor.” But Jesus insisted and the stone was rolled away. Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out.” And instead of the awful smell of a rotting corpse, Lazarus did come out, and Mary and Martha got their brother back, alive and well. (continued…)
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O God, you who have prepared a place for my soul, prepare my soul for that place. Prepare it with steadfast faith, prepare it with good desires, and, even while I remain on earth, let my heart and soul dwell in heaven with you. In the name of Jesus, our risen Lord and Savior. Amen.
–Joseph Hall (1574-1656)
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