Lazarus, come forth!

Sinai, Egypt - St. Katherine's Monastery, 12th century

 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.  Then 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 graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

- John 11:30-44

Yesterday we read that, having been called to Bethany where Lazarus was dying, when Jesus came, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "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 said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to 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."  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."  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."  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."   Many have come from Jerusalem to Bethany to mourn with the sisters of Lazarus.  This reference to the Jews is no doubt meant to indicate those who have come to mourn who are members of the Council or in some way connected with the ruling parties.  It gives us a sense of the importance and standing of the family of Lazarus.  My study bible points out to us here that Mary greets Jesus with precisely the same words which her sister Martha did (see yesterday's reading, above).  But while Jesus engaged Martha with words, here He engages Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother Lazarus from the dead.

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.  Then 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?"  John's Gospel gives us the fully human aspects of Jesus, in that He both groaned in spirit and wept in response to the mourning and sadness of this occasion.   He is as subject to grief as any other human being, and His sympathy is clearly marked, as His response is to the weeping of Mary and the mourners.  My study bible tells us that weeping is the natural response to the tragedy of death.

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?"  Although Martha's faith had increased, my study bible says, she still understood neither Christ's will nor His power (see also yesterday's reading, above, and Jesus' interaction with her).  The spices and oils which were used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time.  In icons of the raising of Lazarus there are frequently depicted bystanders covering their noses.  This illustrates both the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh and also the fact that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead.  See in the icon above those closest to the tomb, who hold their covered hands to their faces to avoid the stench.

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."  Jesus prays aloud, demonstrating to all that His divine will is one with the Father's, and also that His human will was freely subject in all ways to God the Father's.  He prays aloud because of the people, so that they may believe that He is sent by the Father.

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  Here, Jesus' calling forth of Lazarus is not said in the name of the Father, but rather the command is given by His own authority.  It gives us to understand that although He is sent by the Father, He possesses divine authority within Himself.

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."   A frequent patristic commentary on the fact that Lazarus comes out bound in his graveclothes is that it is an indication that he will need them again.  Lazarus' resurrection continues an earthly life which will once again end in death.   We contrast this with the fact that Christ's graveclothes will be left in the tomb (20:5-7).  My study bible comments that unlike Lazarus' resurrection, Christ's transfigures human nature -- He will never die again.  It adds that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but also "confirmed the universal resurrection" (quoting and Orthodox hymn), proving that Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:1-13). 

Jesus performs this seventh and final sign in John's Gospel with all witnesses present.  There are His disciples here, His friends Mary and Martha, and those who've come from Jerusalem to mourn with these sisters, many of whom are clearly among the ruling classes, the leadership.  We must juxtapose this with the remembrance that many members of the Council have already sought to put Jesus to death by stoning, and are convinced that His statements of equality with the Father are simply blasphemy, punishable by death.  These witnesses from Jerusalem will therefore be able to testify to what they have seen.  This seventh and final sign will thus become a great test for the religious leaders of the people:  which way will they decide for Jesus?  We know the outcome and the answer, but it's important that we think of it as a sequence of events that tells us a story for ourselves, and not just about history.   It is a testament to the fact that even as Christ's power works for the good, it will always be a challenge for those whose particular point of view is opposed for whatever reason, be it personal and selfish or an ideological conviction or any other form of resistance to God's ultimate authority.  Every new act of Christ, every holy gift to the world, in fact, becomes a challenge.  It asks us a question:  which way will we go in response, for or against?  Can we accept or do we continue to reject?  The nature of life will be in our own lives to continually be asked such a question, regardless of the events we encounter which contain such a proposition for belief and acceptance.  It sounds quite simple, but often our own answers may be tough to discern.  There will always be so much to persuade us "against God," even if nominally meant in the name of God.  Such is illustrated by the positions the ruling Council will take up.  And so we continue to be caught in this world between the rock and the hard place of making such decisions for ourselves.  Selfishness and self-centeredness can be mighty tricky things to discern, and it may take us far away from those whom we love to discern the difference, even those whom we wish to please.  This is illustrated perfectly in the story of Jesus, in His mission for salvation.  It is why detachment would become so important for the early monastic movements and martyrs of the early Church, so often acting against the interests of their class, families, profession in choosing their love of God, despite their love and honor and desire to do good to all.  There is one thing needful, that good part that in the end we must decide to choose.  Even such a stupendous sign as this one will not be enough to make that an easy decision for those who will follow Christ, and so we should not always expect our own choices for faith to be easy and simple.  Let us remember Jesus' love as expressed through today's reading.  His is the life that is continually making all things new, even as we may choose to leave our pasts behind in following where He leads.  He calls us all to "come forth!"