The Raising of Lazarus
TRANSLATION
(28) When Martha had said this, she went back and called Mary, her sister, aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” (29) And Mary, when she heard this, got up quickly and went to him. (30) Now Jesus had not yet entered the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. (31) When the Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed assuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. (32) When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (33) When Jesus saw her weeping as well as the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. (34) He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” (35) Jesus wept. (36) So the Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” (37) But some of them said, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the man who was blind have kept this man from dying?”
(38) Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. (39) Jesus said, “Take the stone away.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be a bad odor, for he has been dead four days.” (40) Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (41) So they took the stone away. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. (42) I know that you always hear but because of the crowd gathered around I have said this so that they may believe that you have sent me.” (43) And when he had prayed, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” (44) The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of linen and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
OBSERVATIONS
The emotions of those who witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead understandably ranged from the depths of despair to the heights of ecstatic joy. The most frequently repeated words in this segment were the names of the major players in this intense drama: “Mary” (three times in vss. 28, 31, & 32), “Martha” (twice in vss. 30 & 39), “Jesus” (nine times in vss. 30, 32, 33, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, & 44), and “Lazarus” (once in vs. 43). Designations used included “sister” (vss. 28 & 39), “teacher” (vs. 28), “Lord” (three times in vss. 32, 34, & 39), and “Father” (vs. 41). The phrase, “deeply moved” describing Jesus, is found twice (vss. 33 & 38). Other repeated words included “weeping/wept” (vss. 31, 33, & 35), “died/dying/dead” (five times in vss. 32, 37, 39, & 44), “stone” (vss. 38, 39, & 41), “believe” (vss. 40 & 43), and “hear/heard” (vss. 41 & 42).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus wept as he shared Mary’s grief over Lazarus’ death. (28-37)
II. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, an unprecedented miracle. (38-44)
IDEA STATEMENT
After sharing in Mary’s grief by weeping over the death of his friend, Lazarus, Jesus ordered his tomb to be opened and then raised him from the dead.
APPLICATION
The spectacular miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead tends to overshadow another facet of the story that deserves our attention, namely, how Jesus dealt with each of Lazarus’ sisters in their time of grief. Martha, the practical one who gently rebuked Jesus’ for not coming quickly to save her brother from death, needed to have her faith challenged and strengthened. Not even death could thwart the life-giving power of the One who is the resurrection and the life. And when Martha objected to having the stone rolled away because the odor of death would be unbearable, Jesus again challenged her to have faith in his life-giving power. However, with Mary who expressed her grief not in words but in tears, Jesus was moved with compassion and joined her in weeping over the cruelty of death and the pain of separation even though he knew what he was about to do.
How we deal with those who are grieving over the death of a loved one is never an easy matter. Do we try to speak words of comfort or do we simply weep with those who weep? Jesus showed us that there is not just one way to comfort those who are in distress. Believers should, by wisdom and grace, seek to develop the kind of sensitivity that can respond to those grieving in appropriate ways, according to their personality and need. With some like Martha, speaking the right words might be the best approach. With others like Mary, only tears will do. If we look to him, the God of all comfort will enable us to guide our responses to those who are enduring great loss so that we may effectively minister his grace to them in their time of need.