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Miracles of Jesus #32

 Miracle #32

The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is found in John 11:1-44. This is one of the most dramatic and significant miracles in the Gospels.

The Story:

The family: Lazarus lived in Bethany with his sisters Mary and Martha (Mary was the one who poured perfume on Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair)

The illness: Lazarus became sick, and the sisters sent word to Jesus: "Lord, the one you love is sick"

Jesus's response: When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it"

The delay: Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, yet he stayed where he was two more days

The decision: Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." They warned him the Jews there had tried to stone him

Jesus's explanation: He said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." The disciples thought he meant natural sleep, but Jesus meant death

The plain statement: So Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him"

Thomas's response: Thomas said to the other disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him"

The arrival: When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days

Martha's greeting: Martha went out to meet Jesus and said, "Lord, 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's promise: Jesus said, "Your brother will rise again"

Martha's belief: She replied, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day"

Jesus's declaration: 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?"

Martha's confession: "Yes, Lord," she replied, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world"

Mary's grief: Martha went back and called Mary, who came to Jesus, fell at his feet, and said the same thing: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died"

Jesus's emotion: When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. He asked, "Where have you laid him?"

Jesus wept: Jesus wept—the shortest verse in the Bible

The Jews' response: Some said, "See how he loved him!" Others asked, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

At the tomb: Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb—a cave with a stone laid across the entrance

The command: Jesus said, "Take away the stone"

Martha's objection: Martha protested, "But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days"

Jesus's reminder: Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"

The stone removed: So they took away the stone

Jesus's prayer: 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"

The miracle: Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

The resurrection: The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face

The final command: Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go"

Significance:

  • The greatest of Jesus's "sign" miracles in John's Gospel
  • Lazarus had been dead four days—beyond any doubt of death (Jewish belief held the soul lingered for three days)
  • Jesus's intentional delay showed this was for God's glory, not a failure
  • "I am the resurrection and the life"—one of Jesus's seven "I AM" statements in John
  • Jesus's tears showed his full humanity and compassion, even knowing he would raise Lazarus
  • Foreshadowed Jesus's own resurrection
  • Martha's confession of faith paralleled Peter's confession in the other Gospels
  • Jesus prayed aloud for the benefit of witnesses
  • This miracle led directly to the plot to kill Jesus (John 11:45-53)
  • Demonstrated Jesus's absolute power over death
  • The detail of grave clothes showed the reality of death and resurrection
  • Many Jews believed in Jesus because of this miracle

This profound miracle reveals Jesus as the Lord of life who has power over death itself, and it points forward to the ultimate resurrection—both his own and that of all believers.

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