The raising of Lazarus John 11: 17-36
I think people have a hard time relating to the fact that Lazarus died and then was raised four days later simply because most people are unfamiliar with the concept of death in our society let alone a resurrection. There was a time not so long ago that when someone died the body was prepared for burial at home, and when the undertaker came to the house he brought a coffin with him and then the wake took place right there, usually in the living room. As a matter of fact, most doors that were installed in houses were measured to accommodate the size of a casket.
And after they had the typical time of mourning then every body followed the processional to the church where the service took place. Today, either for convenience sake or just to lessen the pain of death people opt for the shortest time of visitation and then the service is held at the funeral home rather than the church. People will do anything to lesson the pain of loss and the reality of death.
I remember when my grandmother died in Glace Bay and my family gathered at the funeral home. This particular building had a porch and I went out to get some air when my great uncle Buddy who was my grandmother’s brother came up and he started talking about what a nice job they did when they built this particular funeral home; which I thought was a bit of a dump covered with cheap imitation paneling. The fact was; he was trying to find something other than death to talk about.
A few years ago there was someone who died from the university and the undertaker told me he had never seen anything like the service that took place. He said a few people read poetry but none of it had to do with the person who died or even with death itself. And then one or two others told a couple of jokes and then someone sang some songs and they had nothing to do with death, grieving or comfort. And then he said that no matter who did anything, they all laughed so hard they almost fell on the floor. Why? They were busy ignoring the reality of death.
I went to a funeral for a Jehovah Witness woman who was some relation to of our church members and I was rather surprised by the message and not just because it was heretical. The man who preached actually gave a Bible study on what the Jehovah Witnesses believed and not once from beginning to end did he ever mention the person in the casket behind him. And this lady was a faithful member of their church. He was trying to ignore the reality of death.
And then I read a story in the paper about a wealthy man in the states who stated in his will that he had to be buried in a brand new Cadillac. He specifically said that he was to be sitting at the wheel wearing expensive casual clothes with a martini in his hand. And he had hired a large piece of machinery to lower the car into the grave. He wanted people to see that he went out the way he lived.
Later on, I saw a clip on the news where they said that in order to fulfill this man’s wishes and get the rest of his money, his brother did exactly as he ordered but he only left the car in the grave for a minute or two. And then he brought it all back up, had the body placed in a coffin and then buried him in the hole and then he sold the car and walked away with the rest of the money. Now, as absurd as that was, what was the dead man trying to say? I think he was trying to convey the idea that he was having just as good of a time as he had when he was living. But listen, while his body was in the Cadillac with a martini in his hand his soul was standing in the presence of God. He might have been conveying the idea that he was ignoring the reality of death and the afterlife but it all caught up with him.
The fact is; people fear death. Society pretends that death isn’t as bad as it appears by having classy looking funeral homes, large displays of flowers and fancy caskets but there’s still a dead body to deal with. And as we look at that body, particularly if it’s a non-Christian, we are reminded that everything they lived and worked for is left behind. But that’s not what happens here because Lazarus was a believer and because he was given an extension of his time on earth.
Now, you have to understand something of the structure of this book before we go any farther. You see, up until now, we have covered basically thirty years of Jesus life and chapters 11 and 12 are known as transitional portions and they are the bridge from Jesus public ministry to His private ministry among His disciples. And in terms of time we are looking at the last week of Jesus life which begins in chapter 13.
Last day we saw that everyone but Lazarus who was dead at the time was in a state of doubt as far as what they believed. The disciples didn’t want to go near Jerusalem because they doubted they’d survive. The messenger from the sisters got back home and when he found that Lazarus was dead, I’m sure he doubted the message he got from Jesus to give to the sisters. And then when the sister’s were sitting at the wake they probably doubted either Jesus’ love for them or his ability to heal as far as their brother was concerned. And then we concluded by looking at Thomas who as I said was the only one who had the first name of doubting as in doubting Thomas but I’m sure the doubting part was a nickname that would fit not only the rest of them but all of us at one time or another.
In verse 17 it says when Jesus arrived at Bethany He was told that Lazarus had already been lying in the grave for four days. Then we are told in verse 18 that Bethany is about fifteen furlongs which is to say it was a little less than two miles from the city of Jerusalem and we are also told that many of the Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary concerning the death of their brother. After all, when anyone prominent in the community died the religious leadership all made it a point of being seen at the funeral just like they do today. So, Lazarus, Martha and Mary were obviously well known and well liked.
I And we begin today with Martha’s meeting with Jesus.
In says in verse 20 that as soon as she heard Jesus was coming she left the house to go meet Him. And she said, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” And when we read that we pick up a subtle rebuke in that she was asking why He hadn’t been there when they needed Him? And then she said, “But, I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” And when we read that, it almost seems like she’s saying, whatever you want to do you can do because God is able to help you but listen, that’s not what she’s saying at all. I think it’s more like she’s asking Jesus to pray a blessing on her brother or to pray for her and her sister. I mean, the very idea of her asking Him to do a miracle on a dead body simply never crossed her mind.
And in response to what she said, Jesus said in verse 23, “Thy brother shall rise again.” And we can see by her reaction to what He said was that she understood what He was saying but she twisted the interpretation of what He said to mean that Lazarus was guaranteed a place in the resurrection at the end of time.
You see, it’s easy to talk about the promise of heaven as being something that’s way off in the future even though we are also told that there are benefits to salvation in the here and now. We are told we can know we’re saved and that makes all the difference in the life we live and the witness we have but, if we just focus on heaven we can ignore how we live right now.
And then we have the promise that the Lord will provide all our needs and yet we worry what we’re going to do about the things we do need. And the bottom line is, even though we’re sure we’re going to heaven it doesn’t affect the way we live right now. And that shows we really don’t take what God says seriously.
And then, on the other hand, I’ve met people who I’m sure are saved but when I’d ask them if they’re sure, they’d say, “I hope so.” And the problem is, they’re can tell you when they got saved but they don’t know the word of God and they lack assurance. And if we don’t know the word we can be just as bad as Martha who twists Jesus words to fit her understanding of what He said because when He refers to Lazarus rising again she just automatically assumes that He was talking about the resurrection at the end of the world. And let’s face it, it was easier to believe what she hoped for than to believe what Jesus could do right there and then.
And there’s an inconsistency in her thinking here because she felt that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead in the last day but that He couldn’t do anything for him in the here and now, because after all, he had been dead for four days. And her problem is our problem in that it’s always easier to rejoice in the power of God for what He’s going to do in the future while doubting His ability to do anything about the problems we have right now. And you know what I mean, it’s easy for us to say, I believe that Jesus Christ is coming back riding a white horse as the book of Revelation tells us but we have an anxiety attack when our stove breaks, our car won’t start or a few shingles blow off our roof. But listen, God is just as concerned with the problems in your life now as He is with the second coming because the promises in the Bible are all true whether they’re about the little things or the big.
Jesus responds to Martha’s misinterpretation of what He said in verse 25 by saying, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believeth thou this?” And when He begins this verse He says, “I am” and by saying this He’s emphasizing His eternal perspective and He could have said, whether it’s past, present or future I am the resurrection and the life. And what He’s telling her is, time isn’t the issue because whether he’s been in the grave four days or forty years He can raise Lazarus whenever He wants to.
And by saying this Jesus also affirmed both the resurrection from the dead and the fact that some would never experience death at all. And we know that He could be referring to the rapture of the saints that Paul talks about over in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 where some of the believers had some questions about what was going to happen and Paul writes to them and says,
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” And where it says ‘comfort’ you can also use the word ‘exhort.’ So, we can comfort those who’ve lost a loved one that they will see them again when the Lord comes back and we can also exhort one another to be busy until He does.
And then Martha responds to Jesus by saying, “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” So, she gave what seems to be a very positive confession and then she left very quickly and I think, it was so He couldn’t ask her any more questions. And then we are told in verse 28 that “She went her way and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, the Master is come, and calleth for thee.” Now, some have suggested the reason she whispered this message about Jesus to Mary was because there were many Jews there it was possible that some of these Jews were of the very crowd that Jesus that had gotten in trouble with the last time He was in the area. And others assume that Jesus gave Martha a message for Mary and that message wasn’t recorded in John’s book and we have to keep in mind that as John says in the last chapter that not everything Jesus said and did was recorded but the reason Jesus wanted Mary to come to Him was because He knew that when she came everyone who was in the house would follow. So, we aren’t sure why everything happened the way it did but we can see that it all worked out in the end.
III And so it says that after hearing her sister Martha that Mary left the house to go to Jesus. And the reason that everyone followed her had to do with how they conducted a funeral back then. It was customary to form a long procession that would lead to the tomb and women always took the lead in the procession because it was the woman who had brought death into the world by their first act of sin and then once they were all gathered at the tomb the eulogies would be given. And then when they came back to the house they had a light lunch which consisted of bread, eggs and lentils. And the goal was to make sure the funeral stayed a funeral and didn’t become a party. And so it makes sense that when Mary got up and quickly left they automatically assumed that it was time to follow her to the grave.
And might seem strange that Jesus didn’t just walk up to the house but it’s possible that there were many people traveling with Him and it would be hard for Him to get anywhere because everywhere He went the crowds were continually growing.
And so, as we read verse 32 and see Mary meeting Jesus, we realize that what they had wasn’t a private conversation but every one was there from the crowd that came with Jesus to the crowd that followed Mary. And so, it says, “Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying unto Him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” And basically, she said the same thing her sister had said. And the reason they both said the same thing was because that’s what they had been saying to one another over and over again. I’m sure they began by saying, if only Jesus was here and then changed it to if only He had come. And it sounds like a statement of faith because she was sure He could have healed him but it was limited statement because she thought that Jesus could only affect things that took place on this side of the grave. You see, they both had confidence in Him but it was only in the present.
It easy to look down on Martha and Mary when they have their doubts but, listen, how is your faith? Do you believe that God can do anything? And if you do that’s great, but what are you doing about it? Are there people you are praying for? Are there things you need that you are asking God for? Are there situations you are asking God to change? Or are you just struggling along on your own?
If we really believe God can do anything than what’s holding us back? I know it’s easy to say, it’s the devil. But, I don’t think God allows the devil to interfere with our prayer life because James tells us very clearly what our problem is, when he says, “We don’t have because we don’t ask.”
It’s interesting to see the difference in the personalities of Martha and Mary. While it says Martha went and met Him it also says when Mary went she fell at His feet. And there are three times we see Mary in the gospel record and each time she’s at the feet of Jesus. In Luke 10:39 she’s sitting at Jesus feet and listening to His word. Here in John 11:32 she fell at Jesus’ feet to pour out her sorrow and in John 12:3 she bowed at His feet to anoint them with the expensive perfume and give Him the praise and worship He deserved. And so, here she doesn’t say much but she was overcome with sorrow and began to weep and all her friends joined in.
And then we see Jesus response in verse 33 where it says, “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.” Now, listen to this, where it says, “He was troubled” other translators use the term “deeply moved” and there are also those who say this could be translated that He was moved with indignation. Our first reaction to this is, why was He indignant or angry in His spirit? And it could be that He was troubled over the issue of sin that causes all the sorrow and death in the world. It’s interesting to see that the same term that was used to describe His reaction is also used to describe a horse snorting. And when a horse snorts it’s not a voluntary action. And so, Jesus was expressing deep emotion in the sense that their emotions became His emotions. And let’s face it, emotions are not only contagious but I believe that Jesus allowed Himself to experience the same sense of loss that they were experiencing. And that’s why when we say, God knows what you’re going through because He has allowed Himself to experience every point of loss and pain that the human race goes through.
And so, it says that He groaned in His spirit and was troubled and said, “Where have you laid him?” This seems like an unusual question. I mean, here is the God of the universe who knows everything that ever happened and everything that ever will happen and He’s asking them for directions to the graveyard. Why? And then back in verse 26 He had just made a phenomenal statement about who He is when He said, “I am the resurrection and the life” and then He asked her, “Do you believe this?” I mean, if He knew everything, didn’t He know what she believed? And then in verse 39 He says to those who were gathered around Lazarus’ tomb, “Take ye away the stone.” I mean, if He is the creator and sustainer of the universe, the one who put all the stars in place then why does He need their help?
I think there are times when Jesus asks a question because He wants to involve others in the answer, like when He asked where the body was they said, “Come and see.” And there are other times when He wants to know what they believe so they can make a positive and public confession. And then there are those instances where He allows people to be part of what He’s doing. I mean, He does this not only when He has them move the stone but you remember when He did the same thing when He fed the five thousand because He used the boy’s lunch to multiply and He didn’t have to do that considering He was the one who could make something out of nothing. And then He had the disciples hand out the food and then collect all the leftovers. And when you think about it, He could have allowed the food to appear in front of every one then He wouldn’t have to worry about the leftovers. So, He asks questions and gets people involved not because He wants to know the answers or needs the help but because He wants those who hear the questions to think about what He just said and those who help to be involved in what He’s doing.
And then we come to the shortest verse in the Bible in verse 35 where it says, “Jesus wept” and the term John uses here means that He cried silent tears. And there are two other times in the Bible where we see Jesus weeping. Over in Luke 19 it says He wept over Jerusalem when He saw their lost condition and the fact that they refused to repent and then in Matthew 26 when He was in the garden He wept when confronted with the task of taking on the sin of the world.
We wonder why He wept here because He knew He would see Lazarus in a few minutes but let me give you a few suggestions as to why He wept as they were on their way to the graveyard.
His heart may have been broken as He saw the unbelief of everyone in the crowd including Martha, Mary and even His disciples. I mean, as far as they were concerned Lazarus was dead and rotting in the grave. Or it might have been the very presence of death which is the ultimate evidence of sin and thinking about the price of sin would’ve broken His heart. Or it could have been the weight of His own impending death as He knew that not only the cross was coming up in the next week or so but also His descent into hell itself. Or it could have been the emotional climate of the crowd as the burden of their hearts affected His. Then again, it may have been the thought of Lazarus’ present condition not in the sense of his body was undergoing decay but that Lazarus was enjoying himself in the very presence of God and Jesus would have to call him back to a world of sin. And that would be a heart-breaker for Jesus. And then keep in mind that they were on their way to a graveyard where even the thought of how many were trapped in unbelief beyond the grave would have brought sorrow to Jesus’ heart. All these lost people and He was only going to bring one back and he was one who would be just as happy to stay right where he was.
And then in verses 36 and 37 we see there are two different opinions of Jesus and what’s going on. The first group saw His tears and said, “Look how much He loved him” while the second crowd are talking about the fact that He healed the blind so why didn’t He do something for Lazarus. No wonder we read in the next verse that He groaned again as He heard what they had to say.
It reminds me of the story of a Jewish grandmother who was on the beach with her little grandchild when a wave came in and washed the child out to sea. She moaned and cried out to God to do something and do it now. And then in response to her prayer God washed the child back up on the shore. She looked up and said, “He had a hat!” and that’s what this second crowd are like. He did this for others so why didn’t He do the same for Lazarus.
IV And then we see the miracle.
It says in verse 38, “It was a cave and a stone lay upon it.” And this was a common grave in Israel. Tombs were either natural caves or caves that had been dug out of the rock. The average tomb was about six feet long, nine feet wide and ten feet high. Inside, there were usually about eight shelves carved into the rock to hold all the family members. As one of them died, they were wrapped in a linen garment and aromatic spices were sprinkled in the folds and the hands and feet were bound separately and the head was wrapped in a towel and they were placed on a shelf. The tomb had no door but just a large cart-wheel shaped rock that sat in a groove that could easily be removed.
And so in verse 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone” and just before they did we see a discussion that takes place between Jesus and Martha because she doesn’t have a clue as to what He can do or what He will do. And so she says, “Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.” It’s like she’s saying I love my brother as much as anyone but I don’t want to see him in this condition. And what we’re seeing here is her practical nature coming out.
You see, the Jews thought the spirit of a person hung around the grave for four days hoping to get back in but by the fourth day because the face was no longer recognizable, it was believed that the spirit would leave. And since this was the fourth day Martha wanted to remember him when they laid him in the tomb and not smell the stink of his dead body. She must have thought that Jesus wanted to have one last look at Lazarus.
And Jesus takes His time to put her mind at ease when He says, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” So, He saying just trust God and you’re going to see Him do what only He can do.
Then if you read verse 41 you can imagine that everything is happening at once in the sense that they’re taking away the stone and Jesus is praying at the same time. And get this, it says, “And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard Me. And I knew that thou hearest Me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent Me.” And then it says, “And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth.”
Now, let me stop right there because something strange just happened and you may not have noticed it. He was praying to His Father in a normal voice but when He called Lazarus to come forth, it says He shouts. Why does He shout at this point? It may have been that He was expressing his authority over the dead by doing it this way. Or, maybe He wanted everyone around Him and those in both heaven and hell to hear Him clearly so they could see His authority over the grave. Or it might have even been a declaration to Satan himself that Jesus’ authority was still in place. Or it could have been, all of the above.
I like how someone said, “The reason He called Lazarus by name was, because if He had just said, come out, then the whole graveyard would have come alive.
And then the next verse says, “And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. And then Jesus said unto them, loose him and let him go.” And again, it’s like He’s telling them, I’ve done what I had to do now you do your part.
And then we see the response of the crowds to this phenomenal miracle. It says, “Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him.” And that doesn’t surprise us in the sense that they had just seen something that no one had ever seen before and there was no explanation for what they saw, except that God stood right in front of them. I mean, how else can you explain what happened?
And then we see the other crowd of which 46 says, “But some of them went their way to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done.” And of course our reaction to this response would be, why? I mean, how can you see something absolutely unexplainable and just walk away? There’s only one explanation and its unbelief. There hearts were hard.
What makes someone’s heart hard? It’s easy to say sin but everyone’s a sinner and yet not everyone has a hard heart toward the things of God. I think there are some people who are so committed to some sin that they aren’t willing to give up and so they can be hardened toward the call of God. And then there are others who are resistant to any kind of change.
A couple of weeks ago when we were out on the street someone tried to hand a man a track and he said, “I’m not interested in that.” And I remembered meeting him when I was on town council and he was making a point to me about why he didn’t like the changes that were taking place and why I should listen to him and he said, “I’m a fifth generation member of this town.” And so he was resistant to change not only in his own life but even in the town itself. The fact is; we may not like all change but there are some who will never accept the Lord because they don’t like the fact that God changes people and He does.
Listen, this phenomenal miracle was meant for two purposes. For the believer it shows us how Jesus has power over death and that was not just over the death of those who had already died but also over the death of those who would die and even over His own death. And just think, it would only be a little bit more than two weeks when this very crowd would see Jesus hanging on the cross and they would need to remember who He was and the power over death that He displayed.
And in a sense we could say that the raising of Lazarus’ from the dead was also a picture of Jesus resurrection because in raising Lazarus He was giving them hope that went beyond the grave. And yet, I think it even goes beyond because it shows us that Jesus is the one with the keys to life and death.
And it also shows the unbeliever something he doesn’t want to face and that’s that the grave is not the end because if Lazarus could be called back then everyone is waiting somewhere.
I think there are some tremendous lessons for us here.
1. Don’t be a Martha because people like Martha go through life just seeing the problems and what do they end up with? They get ulcers from worrying about anything and everything and they’re continually faced with all kinds of problems. Don’t be a Martha.
2. Do be busy doing what you are told to do. When Jesus told the people to unwrap Lazarus He wanted them to do what they could do. And listen to this, He doesn’t expect you or I to actually save people because only He can do that. But what He does want us to do is to share our testimony with others and then He’ll use that to save them.
3. Be faithful. Just as Jesus said, “Lazarus come forth” and he came forth one day He’s coming back and whether we’re in the graveyard or faithful in the church He’ll call us by name and we’ll go. But listen, if He came back tonight, would He call your name?
