A Genuine Miracle Series

Jesus is deeply moved with divine indignation[4] as he approaches the tomb. His wrath is not against people but against the Destroyer, against Death (the consequence of sin.).[5] There in the tomb lays a man designed by God to live forever. But the Destroyer has interfered with God original design. The smell of death is in the tomb.

This is Jesus coming against the spirit of death. “Be angry and sin not.”[6] There is a holy, righteous indignation that should move us to deliver oppressed people from their bondgage. God gave you and me the capacity to be angry. That anger is not to be directed toward people but toward spiritual wickedness that is robbing people of God’s best.

Tears streamed down Jesus’ cheeks[7] as he connected with Mary in her pain. The crowd misinterpreted Jesus’ tears. They thought he was weeping because he had lost his friend Lazarus. But Jesus knew what he was about to do. He was not crying for himself but was empathizing with Mary’s pain.

There was a little girl who came home late one day from school and her mother was upset because of it. The mom immediately started to ranting and raving over the fact that she had come home late. Finally the mom settled down enough to ask her why she was late.

The girl told her mom that today was “show and tell” and that Sarah had brought a china doll that her grandmother had given her and on the way home she had dropped it and broken it. When the girl told her mom that she had stayed to help her friend the mom changed her tone and told the girl how proud she was that she stopped to help Sarah fix her china doll.

The little girl looked up at her mom and said, “No Mommy the doll was too broke to fix. I just stayed to help Sarah cry.”[8]

“Weep with those who weep.”[9] Jesus is doing that in John 11:35 because he genuinely cares about Mary’s pain.

Genuine miracles are motivated by compassion. They are designed to relieve human suffering. They are not like the magical tricks designed to impress the crowd.

How does pulling a rabbit from a hat relieve human suffering? False signs often fail this test. Who cares if someone can pull a card from behind someone’s ear? It really benefits no one. [10] Do you know the fundamental difference between a Harry Potter levitation trick and a genuine miracle of grace?

II. The miracle required people to do what they could in the situation.

No one there but Jesus was empowered to give life to Lazarus. That part of this event was beyond their capacity. No matter how much Martha and Mary grieved over the death of Lazarus, their grief could not bring Lazarus back. No matter how much the crowd sympathized with these grieving sisters their sympathy was powerless against death. But, Jesus is the resurrection and the life and he will supply what they can not supply: life-giving power.

Now notice what Jesus does require these people to do. Verse 39 “Take away the stone.” How many believe that Jesus could have spoken to that stone and told it to move out of the way and it would have obeyed his command? I suspect that one who could bring back to life to a man who has been dead four days could have spoken the word and moved that stone. Think of the awe people would have experienced as the stone floated in the air. How mundane it is to roll the stone by hand compared to a magical levitation trick.