Lazarus, come forth!

 

The Resurrection of Lazarus, 12th century; St. Katherine's Monastery, Sinai

 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 the continuation of the story of the raising of Lazarus (for the first part, see Wednesday's reading). So when Jesus came to the town of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb 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."  The first thing to notice here is that Mary now approaches Christ with precisely the same words that Martha did:  "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  My study Bible comments that while Jesus engaged Martha with words, here He will engage Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother Lazarus from the dead which follows.

 

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?"  Here St. John emphasizes in his Gospel that Jesus wept, and groaned in spirit (verses 33, 38), in order to show that Christ had fully taken on human nature.  He was thus as subject to grief as any man would be.  My study Bible comments that weeping is the natural response to the tragedy of death.  It's also true that these sisters, their brother, and Jesus share a special bond of friendship, and so He responds to the suffering of these whom He loves as well.  There is a Compline hymn from Lazarus Saturday, in which it is sung, "Shedding tears by Your own choice, You have given us proof of Your heartfelt 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."  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 that, although Martha's faith had increased (see yesterday's reading, above), she still did not understand Christ's will nor His power.  The spices and oil which were used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time, and Lazarus has now been dead for four days.  Many icons of the raising of Lazarus show bystanders covering their noses (as we can see in the icon reproduced above), which illustrates the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh, and also that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead. 

 

 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."  To show that Christ's divine will was one with the Father's, and also that His human will was freely subject to the Father's in every way, Jesus prays aloud for the sake of the people. 

 

 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  Christ calls Lazarus forth, not in the name of the Father, but by His own authority.  According to my study Bible, this shows the people that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself.  See also John 5:28-29.  

 

 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."  My study Bible cites patristic commentary in which it is widely seen that Lazarus coming out bound in his gravelothes is an indication that he will need them again; his resurrection continues an earthly life, which will again end in death.  By contrast, Christ's own graveclothes will be left in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike this resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus' Resurrection transfigures human nature:  He will never die again.  Furthermore, my study Bible affirms that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but as the words of the Orthodox hymn for the day say, it also "confirmed the universal resurrection," and proves that it is Christ who has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:1-13).  

 

Life and death; the beginning and the end.  It is interesting how the events of Christ's ministry unfold to span the widest possible territory, and challenge the way of the world on the deepest levels.  In this seventh and final sign in St. John's Gospel, we're given this absolute of power:  the power of life over death, affirming that He is the One who is "the resurrection and the life."   These words of Christ (from yesterday's reading, above) will take on even greater dimension and power in His Resurrection following His Crucifixion.  But for now, this event of raising Lazarus from the dead will have its phenomenal impact.  Just as Christ's trajectory in His ministry expands from the earliest times of His preaching to this act of pure power, the power of resurrection, so the religious authorities will continue to be headed in the opposite direction.  It is this raising of Lazarus from the dead that will certify for the religious leaders that they must be rid of Him, for He is a threat to their own authority.  As Jesus expands the expression of His authority, so they expand also their opposition to Him.  Now there are witnesses present from Jerusalem who had gone to Bethany to join the sisters in mourning, and the Council will be unable to ignore that and the news of this event as it spreads through the community.  In the Gospel and in subsequent Church history, it is recorded that Lazarus had threats upon his own life because of the impact of his resurrection (see John 12:10-11).  In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Lazarus eventually became a bishop of the Church in Cyprus, appointed by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas.  It is said that in the thirty years he lived after his resurrection, he never smiled but once, for he had seen unredeemed souls in Hades.  The one occasion was when he saw someone stealing a pot, and remarked "the clay steals the clay."  The story of Lazarus' subsequent life is a sobering one, telling us of the great seriousness of what has happened, and that issues of life and death must not be trivialized nor reduced to fantasy.  Let us rejoin with Christ His ministry as our readings in the Gospel continue.