Hello, My Name Is ...

Hello, My Name is ...

“The witness of Lazarus.”

We are not sure that Lazarus ever spoke, I am sure he did, but the Bible doesn’t record it.

I certainly would have loved to have heard him share his testimony, maybe something like this.

“Hello, my name is Lazarus, and I am truly honored to speak to you about my best Friend.

I am from Bethany and live in our family home with my two living sisters Martha and Mary. For those who have known us for any length of time, you know well that over the past several years tragedy struck our home, coming as quickly as leaves falling to the ground. One by one our loved ones fell sick and were taken from us; it seemed too quickly. My sisters and I found ourselves living in sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, and despair.

Then one day Mary came home and excitedly told us of a man who others claimed was the Messiah. She stated that as she listened to Him speak, she became convinced that He was the promised One. That day, we saw in her a joy that we had never witnessed before. So, out of curiosity and hope, Martha and I sought this man out. We soon found Him preaching to a crowd of people who seemed mesmerized by the power and love in his sermon. As we listened to His words, we knew then why. Our hearts opened that moment to trust in Him, as we too became believers. He changed our lives and filled our hearts with hope and joy, and we have never been the same. Jesus became to us not only the Messiah, our Savior and Lord; but he became our closest friend.

We spoke to Jesus, and we decided that whenever He was in our area, for any reason, he would consider our humble home his home; a place of refuge, and rest, and allow us to minister to Him. He agreed and we have cherished His visits. Since that first meeting until now our relationship with Him has grown into a true friendship.

Now allow me to share my testimony with you.

Some weeks before the celebration of Passover, I started feeling weak and became desperately sick. My sisters and others did their best to minister to me, but I only grew worse. My body became so weak, I could not eat and only take tiny sips of water. Finally, I drifted into sleep, for how long, I do not know.

Then out of deathly silence, I heard a loud, but kind voice and familiar voice saying, “Lazarus…” It was the voice of my friend Jesus. My eyes opened, and then he commanded, “Come forth!”

Then like the wave of the sea flowing over me, I felt my strength return and rush into my body. I took a deep breath and started to sit up but felt strangely restricted. At that point, I was wide awake. I struggled more and managed to twist myself from the place I lay. Although my whole body was restrained, I was able to stand up and then inch my way towards His voice. Suddenly, He spoke again, “Lose him, and let him go!”

I felt several sets of hands all over my body, ripping what I now know were grave clothes from me.

As my head was unwrapped, I saw my Lord Jesus, and then a large crowd around me. I mumbled,

“What happened?” Jesus winked at me and smiled.

My sisters both speaking in tearful joy at the same time said, “Brother, you died! You have been dead for four days! But Jesus, the resurrection and life came and raised you from the dead!

Enough about me, and the miracle, let me tell you about Jesus!

©Loyd C Taylor, Sr., 2024