“At the Grave of Lazarus” John 11:25-44
As we end the old year and begin with the new, the resurrection of Lazarus is an appropriate passage to consider. In our last study we concluded at John 11:25-27 (NKJV): 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
We saw several things here: First of all, Jesus makes another emphatic declaration of His deity: I AM THE RESURRECTION and THE LIFE. There is no life apart from Him. Time holds no restrictions on the Lord Jesus because He is the Ancient of Days, the Creator God who created mankind and did so IN TIME. He is Lord of Life and Lord over “time” and beyond: Time is not a barrier to the God of all eternity.
Secondly, Martha affirms her personal faith in the Lord Jesus. Jesus comes to His chosen ones personally and reveals Himself as Savior and Lord. Jesus moves Martha into making a profession of her faith in Jesus’ Life and Work for her BEFORE He even finishes His Work here on earth.
We continue in verse 28: And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you." 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there." 32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" 37 And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" 38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
WEEPING OVER SIN’S DEADLY EFFECTS
This is probably one of the most touching scenes in Jesus’ ministry and if you are trying to memorize verses in the Bible, verse 35 is the easiest: “Jesus wept.” So often we explain His weeping in terms of his human nature, but the text does not really tell us that. Jesus does not weep like human mourners with no hope: He weeps for the mourners who are wailing uncontrollably as if there is no hope after death. If the majority of people gathered truly believed who He claimed to be, they would not be mourning but rejoicing in the presence of the One who had just made the declaration that HE IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE and if you would BELIEVE IN HIM YOU WOULD NOT TASTE OF DEATH.
Jesus weeps over the deadly effects of sin: If man had not sinned, he would never have to face this horrible, fatal event and everything that it entails and includes: Grief, separation, hurt, heartful pain, and for those who are steeped in their willful unbelief….eternal condemnation by God which is a never ending life of “GRACELESSNESS”.
As Jesus “groaned” in His spirit”, or “was deeply moved in His spirit” He was actually filled with anger and emotional indignation over the disposition of the mourners: they basically acted as pagans who had no hope of the resurrection from the dead. It was not that Jesus did NOT feel sympathy toward Mary and Martha in their loss; He DID because Jesus was altogether acquainted with grief as “THE MAN OF SORROWS” described in Isaiah 53:3. He loved Mary and Martha and He loved Lazarus, but in Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life, death does not have the final word. Death is not victorious but CHRIST IS VICTORIOUS!
Jesus’ weeping has the connotation of silently bursting into tears. Have you ever had that where the hurt inside just builds in your inner being and you swallow and swallow again but it will not settle down…and finally your tears ducts just begin flowing…you don’t need to say anything. His tears were not on account of mourning because Jesus KNEW why He was there and what He would do. The tears of Jesus are definitely contrasted from those of the mourners.
Look at verse 39: Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.”
COMMANDS AND COMFORTS THE GRACE
Notice the steps that Jesus takes: It’s almost as if He is adding a bit of intrigue to the situation by first of all giving the command to TAKE THE STONE AWAY. Martha objects in her doubt because Lazarus had been dead for four days. The Jews did not embalm their dead and they also did not tightly wrap their dead like the Egyptians. They entombed their dead with various spices between several layers of wrappings, which is why Lazarus could not walk out until some people unwrapped him.
Again Jesus reminds Martha: "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" BELIEVING at the grave of Lazarus is the great emphasis by Jesus. He mentioned believing in verses 25-27: 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
Mary and Martha would see that faith (believing) is first of all TRUSTING, and when you trust in Jesus you will see and understand His very Divine essence and nature; you will grasp the magnitude of His Earthly Mission and Love.
The last part of verse 41 continues: And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."
Why do you think that Jesus prays at this point? It is not because He lacks the power to raise Lazarus: He prays for the benefit of the hearers. He prays in order that WE MAY BELIEVE that He is the Christ and that He is from all eternity. He prays to assert and solidify His emphatic declaration that HE ALONE IS THE RESURRECTION and the LIFE. He prays that all those who hear His voice might believe in Him as the Savior and Messiah sent from Heaven in order to overcome sin and death!
We conclude this section with verses 43-44: Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."
Can you imagine that tremendous command of Jesus as He calls into the open grave: “LAZARUS, COME OUT!” Appropriately, the name “Lazarus” means, “God is my help”. The fact that Jesus chose to raise Lazarus also tells us that Lazarus was a man who understood that “GOD INDEED is my ONLY help.” It is only those whom the Father calls who possess a humble heart, who will believe and it is only those who believe who will hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him. He is the One who calls the dead to life in Him.
This command is a preview of the last day when the voice of the LORD will thunder out across the whole earth, commanding people to come forth from their graves. In John 5:28-29 we had heard Jesus promise: “An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
ALL MEN and WOMEN will one day be raised. The “GOOD” is BELIEVING ON THE SON so as to receive a new nature from above which produces works that are pleasing to God. Believing on the works of Jesus alone leads to godliness. Rejecting the Son and hating the Light of the World will naturally result in spiritual deafness and a total inability to respond to the voice of Jesus.
Lazarus could only respond because Jesus had given Him life. The fact that Lazarus was unable to free himself from the bonds of the grave clothes shows that we are unable to do anything at all without the power of God. Living and walking with the Lord after He gives us new life is also by the command, will and power of God.
Jesus is only days away from His own death and resurrection, but He would rise by His own power, and no one had to assist Him out of His grave clothes, because death could not hold Him in its clutches. The stone was rolled away for Him and all who believe in Jesus for forgiveness and life will also walk out of their graves and leave death behind. We have already have experienced victory over sin and death when we received life from our merciful God by faith as a graceful/generous gift.
Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18: Therefore, if anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself.”
May we herald this Good News in the year ahead: Jesus has come that we might have forgiveness and life in His name to the Glory of God. He has given us His written word as a witness “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in His name. “(John 20:31)
