Lazarus, come forth!

Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 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." 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." Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 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." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 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." Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

- John 11:30-44

In the past two readings, we've been focusing on the events surrounding Jesus' great friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus -- two sisters and their brother. On Wednesday, we read that Jesus was told Lazarus was ill (Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick). At that time, Jesus was away from Judea and the threatening officials who by now wish to put Him to death. But when He heard of Lazarus' illness He told His disciples they should go to Judea and Bethany, where Lazarus and his sisters' home is. Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." He delayed two days. Yesterday, we read that upon His arrival, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Bethany is about two miles east of Jerusalem. Martha went out to meet Jesus, while Mary sat mourning in the house with others who had also come to mourn Lazarus. Martha told Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha thought Jesus was referring to the final resurrection, but Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." Martha then went secretly to her sister Mary, and told her, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you." As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 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." In John's Gospel, the term "the Jews" is used to denote the party of those who are against Jesus or rather with the leadership who opposes Him, and now threatens His life. All the people in this story are Jewish people. These mourners have come from Jerusalem, to mourn with Martha and Mary. They will be witnesses to what is to happen at Lazarus' tomb.

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." Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" Mary echoes the words of her sister Martha from yesterday's reading. But this time, with Mary, Jesus' response is different. He sees all the mourners and Mary weeping. In the English, Jesus' groaning and being troubled can be perceived in one way as deeply sad and downcast. But in the Greek, the words give us a slightly different connotation: Jesus is agitated and disturbed to behold the sadness of Mary and the mourners; He is upset, even indignant, angry, as if what He experiences is somehow deeply wrong. To my mind, the very evil of the sadness and death with which humanity is burdened is exemplified here, and our Lord's response to it is appropriate to that understanding of the human condition. He expresses grief at the injustice of evil. He grieves, and weeps, with all of them. Jesus wept is the shortest verse in the bible. My study bible says, "As true man Jesus shows by example that weeping is the natural human response to death. As true God He shows compassion upon His creation when the soul is torn from the body." Again, we go to the Greek: these are silent tears running down His face. Above all, we know His love.

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 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." Again, in the Greek, Jesus' groaning is more akin to an expression of indignation or anger. The Resurrection and the Life is confronting death. My study bible says, "Jesus comes to the place of burial. A corpse that has by the fourth day begun to deteriorate is enough reason for Martha's warning. Embalming was prohibited in Judaism. The body was simply anointed with spices and other aromatic substances which would keep the stench of decomposition at bay for a time."

Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" My study bible notes, "The Savior responds to Martha's cautionary note by reminding her of His earlier words."

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 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." Again, my study bible helps with a note: "Again, we see the Evangelist's insistence on relating Jesus' dependence upon the Father for all His works. Jesus prays for the bystanders, that they may have the insight to see the glory of God in the miracle."

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" My study bible tells us, "Jesus' loud cry for all to hear is reminiscent of His earlier words, 'The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth' (5:28-29)."

And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go." My study bible says, "That Lazarus came out bound in his linen graveclothes is interpreted by patristic writers as an indication that he will need them once again: he will eventually die. The Savior's grave linens, by contrast, were left in the tomb. He will have no more use for them, for He will never die again."

Perhaps it is a time to consider what is death. The body dies, but not the soul, but how are we to view death? What do the Scriptures say to us? Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, as He has just told Martha (in yesterday's reading). Death and sin are related in Scriptural understanding. There was no death in the Garden; death came to the world as a result of the evil in the world. This is the picture that Scripture gives us. So, in this light, we can see death as evil, something which is not just, not fair, but which comes to all of us. In the Resurrection, says Jesus, some will go to the resurrection of life, and others will not, depending upon their own desires for life or death in these spiritual terms. But the great injustice of loss and suffering, being separated from loved ones, from life itself is a burden of evil in the world. As the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus makes His confrontation with death. God is revealed for all of us as the God of life, not merely against the death and deterioration of the body, but against everything that takes away what we call life in ourselves. Suffering and injustice are also against this life, lack and hurt and hunger, all forms of deprivation are forms of evil or death against this life. And Jesus' very life which He offers to us is characterized by love. He loves His friends, He loves us all; He shares with His friends the grief and anger at the death of their dear Lazarus, and He shares indignation for all of us at the burden of evil and death in the world. Salvation, and Christ as Savior, goes so far deeply under the surface of what we understand to be life and death. Christ offers us life in abundance. He offers us Resurrection. I say that life in abundance and Resurrection are far greater terms than what we understand by life after physical death, but rather terms that teach us about Christ's presence to us, His eternal presence, without limit and without time. Resurrection and life in abundance are qualities of His Person that are always present to us. His love is present to us. As He lived His human life in a world burdened with evil and sin, so He will lead us through this world, so that we, too, may be a part of that Kingdom even here in the world. There are all kinds of injustices with which we may have to contend, but the Savior has done it all before us. When we ask to live life His Way, we become a part of that force for life in the world.

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