"Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, 'Lord, the one you love is sick.'
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.' Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days." John 11:1-6
The promises and words of Jesus often are found in simplicity. Upon the news of Lazarus's sickness Jesus simply says that "it will not end in death." There was a bigger plan at stake, a more eternal perspective to suffering and it was for the glory of God. Jesus made it clear, not in a parable as he often did, but in a direct statement that this sickness would not end in death ...yet Lazarus dies.
"So then he told them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead, and for you sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to Him.' ...On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days." John 11:14-15, 17
Although his body lay in the tomb, wrapped in graves clothes, death was not the final say for Lazarus. Jesus had a healing glory to show. Upon his arrival many others had come to comfort Mary and Martha at the loss of their brother. The first reactions from the sisters were that of deep grief, a place we so often find ourselves, in telling Christ what could have been. They ran to him both having said that if Jesus had been there, their brother would not have died. What we can't seem to wrap our minds around is that Jesus will do exactly what he says he will do. Instead of trusting that Jesus will show up, and not only come to us but come on time, we allow our temporary circumstances to define the faithfulness of Christ. So often, this habit causes us to falter on our side of the relationship, to choose disbelief over faith. But thank God for His faithfulness to us despite our faults and failures.
The beauty of this passage is found in Mary's physical reaction to Jesus. Yes, she was filled with sorrow and grief, and her heart ached at the wonder of why Jesus didn't come sooner, why he didn't answer in the way she expected him to, but when she heard of his arrival, she rand and "she fell at his feet." There at the feet of Jesus, Mary wept and wept, physically surrendering her hurt, her sorrow, her questions and fears. There is a sacredness at the feet of Jesus that draws the hurting, healed and praising people. We must realize the strength it took for Mary to run and fall there.
How many of us would have closed the door and turned away?
How many of us would have been so overtaken by our sorrow that we wouldn't have even lifted our heads?
Would we have stayed in the company of our friends and used their comforts as a temporary ease?
When sorrow, fear, doubt and disbelief threaten to take our hearts out, the greatest courage we can have comes in falling on our knees and surrendering to Jesus.
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled...
Jesus wept...
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb." John 11:33, 35, 38
Have you ever considered the immense love of Christ?
I mean, really stopped and allowed it to sink deep?
Mary's beloved brother had died, days had passed and I'm sure by then the reality of his death began setting in. Imagine the questions that ran through her mind: why it was him that became sick, why the sickness took his life, where was Jesus and why hadn't he come? And now she is fallen before Jesus, weeping at his feet, the kind of weeping that comes from the very depths of our being. A weeping that forces its way to the surface and that can't be held back, one that causes us to winder if we can survive that which we face. A weeping that unleashed a flood from every eye in the crowd.
Then Jesus wept.
He is not far from our grief, he is not a passive King, but rather One who comes close and weeps along with us. His heart is heavy with concern for those who He loves, His compassions never fail.
"You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each on in your book."
Psalm 56:8 NLT
From there Jesus asked to be led to the tomb where the body of Lazarus was laid. The two of these images together encompass the glorious dynamic of our Savior - one who is perfectly gentle, come close and weeping as we weep; all while perfectly strong in coming close to death itself, facing it as it is, confident in His ability to overcome. Standing at the grave of one we love is no easy task, it brings a reality to our grief that seems to unearth a new layer. Yet there, in from of the tomb, he issues one command: to believe.
"'Did I not tell you that if you believe, you would 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....'Jesus called out in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, 'Take off the grave clothes and let him go.'" John 11: 40-41, 43-44
At the grave of his treasured friend, Jesus gave thanks to the Father. He chose to have gratitude despite the sorrow, the weeping, and the seemingly impossible. He chose an act of thanksgiving right there at the grave, the he commanded Lazarus out of the tomb. When Lazarus walks out, Jesus has them strip him of his grave clothes. We can find ourselves in similar circumstances, life deals us a hard hand and we shut down our hearts, we die a small death in order to survive. But this is not the life we are meant to live - half-hearted, numb to the world, shutdown and buried in feelings of defeat, anxiety and fear. We remain in these self-made "tombs" and wrap ourselves in grave clothes of bondage, depression, and despair. But because of Christ, we have hope. Our gratitude abolishes the sting of death-like circumstances every time. Jesus called Lazarus our and "the dead man came out." As well, he calls us out of our self-made tombs and gives us the strength and the breath we need to put one foot in front of the other and walk toward His voice. He removes the grave clothes and adorns us with beauty and a brilliance that radiates from His light within us.
"Can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, I
n those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift,
this grand setting-everything-right, that one man Jesus Christ provides?"
Romans 5:17 MSG
Our hearts desperately need to know that we are not "too far gone," we have not "done too much," and when all that is within us screams for us to give up, that God is too late, that we are forgotten: God is for us, He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deut 31:6). He is near us every moment of every day. His commanding whisper shouts louder than any death, any impossibility, and any circumstance that we have or will ever face. But we must tune our spiritual ears to listen for Him. We must come out, out of darkness, out of hiding and into His Presence. Because it is in His Presence that our chains are broken by the authority of Jesus' Name, the Only Name. It is there we have been given life and we have been set free.
Come, follow His voice, find your way out, and believe. It is time to remove the grave clothes and put on a new wardrobe. Your story does not need to end in death, for Christ came that you may have eternal, everlasting life!
Lord, thank you for calling to me. For not requiring anything from me but my heart in the very condition it is in - be it a devastated mess or filled and overflowing. You give me strength when I am at the end of myself. Rid me of this heart of stone that has been kept hidden in shame and give me one of flesh - beating with, living for, and tender toward you! Shatter my pride and teach me to worship the beauty of your creation, even within my own self. Purge me of all darkness, dispel it with your Light that you may create a pure heart within me.
Thank you for giving me life - redeemed, forgiven, full and free. Great are you, Lord, mighty in power and filled with a love for us that is unfailing.
Amen.
