The Dead Raised to Life

Background Scripture: John 11
Lesson Scripture: John 11:1-7, 11-15, 23, 43-44

Introduction

The crowning glory of God’s creation is life itself. We marvel at the stars, the snowflakes, and the sunset, but nothing surpasses the glory of life. God “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). God created one special being in his own image, and He planted within him a part of Himself. This is the splendor of mankind.

Since the glory of God’s creation is life, the enemy of it is death. In the final weeks of preparation for his own death, Jesus demonstrated to his followers and to his killers how He would conquer death once and forever.

Key Verse

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live (John 5:25).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

The book of John focuses on Jesus’s identity as the Son of God and captures the struggle within the hearts of people as they wondered whether this Man could be divine. Their initial caution was reasonable; it sounded like blasphemy to say that Jesus was the Son of God. It was a remarkable claim that called for remarkable evidence, but Jesus offered clear proof of his divinity through miracles, teaching, and consistent virtue. These works convinced all truth-minded people that He was indeed the Son of God. The same works, however, also caused the skeptics to become increasingly hardened.

The book of John lists only seven of Jesus’s miracles prior to his death. Nevertheless, these few miracles are explained in detail with a special focus on the reactions of the people involved. Again and again, contentious discussions erupted after Jesus worked a miracle, as the reality of his power clashed with people’s beliefs about God. Jesus did two of these miracles in Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, further aggravating his enemies. It is hard for us to understand how people could be hardened by miracles, but we should be aware of our own tendency to believe in our own ideas.

Through divine inspiration, John the Baptist was the first to proclaim that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:34). Nathanael was one of the first disciples to express it, showing an openness that can only be found in a humble awareness of the working of God. Soon the demons were also declaring that Jesus was the Son of God (Mark 3:11).

Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, lived outside Jerusalem in the town of Bethany. They believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and they welcomed Jesus to stay at their house when He was visiting Jerusalem. The two-mile walk from their house to Jerusalem was the setting for many events in the Gospels. The road led around the Mount of Olives, past the Garden of Gethsemane, down across the Kidron Valley, and up through the city gate on the Temple Mount.

Jesus had left his home country of Galilee for the last time and walked to Jerusalem in preparation for the sacrifice of Himself. The Jews in Jerusalem tried to arrest Him prematurely, so He traveled beyond the Jordan River. That is when Jesus received the message that Lazarus was sick. However, He did not begin the journey back to Bethany until Lazarus had died. By the time He arrived, Lazarus had been buried for four days, and Mary and Martha were well into their time of mourning. Many people from Jerusalem, both believers and skeptics, had gathered to participate in mourning for Lazarus.

Mary and Martha each said the same thing to Jesus when they met Him: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” No doubt they had been repeating this to each other as they wept. Jesus told Martha that He was the resurrection and the life. She replied that she believed He was the Son of God, but in her heart the only remaining hope for Lazarus was the resurrection on the last day.

Jesus broke down and cried when He saw the sorrowing faith of Mary and Martha. He was deeply affected by the trust these sisters had in Him despite their pain and disappointment. Jesus cared. No doubt He was also filled with dread of his own imminent death. He was the Creator of life who alone had the power to give life back to Lazarus, yet He was voluntarily approaching his own death because of his love for us. Seeing his tears, some onlookers said, “See how He loved him!” But the skeptics said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” In their minds, Jesus would have avoided this grief if He really was powerful. Their selfish minds could not comprehend how love can bring pain.

Then Jesus arrived at the grave, which was a cave covered by a stone. He said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha shuddered, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” In her mind, Lazarus was gone to his eternal home, so the rotting corpse ought to be left alone.

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?”

After the stone had been removed from the grave, Jesus offered up a prayer quite unlike the prayer of a man. He was not requesting a miracle from the Father, because He had within Himself the power of life. His prayer was thanksgiving that the Father heard Him, and it was a declaration that what was about to happen was proof that He was sent by God. The Creator was about to give the people of Jerusalem their last and clearest glimpse of his divinity, of his power of life over death.

Jesus cried out, “Lazarus, come forth!” And Lazarus shuffled out of the tomb, his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Practical Truths for Today

The resurrection of Lazarus was the preeminent miracle of Jesus, demonstrating with finality that God was walking among men. This miracle illustrates the central theme of the gospel—the victory of life over death. In this miracle, Jesus gave a preview of his own death, his rest in the tomb, and his resurrection. Death would not be able to hold Him because He had life in Himself (John 5:26).

The impact of this miracle was compounded by the fact that Lazarus had been dead four days when Jesus arrived. Those who had prepared the corpse for burial would have observed the unmistakable signs of death. This miracle had a powerful effect on the people around Jerusalem.

For some witnesses, the moment of Lazarus’s resurrection was the tipping point from skepticism to believing that Jesus was the Son of God. The news of this miracle sent waves of joy throughout the region of Judea. When the time for the Passover feast was near, people flocked to Bethany to see both Jesus and Lazarus. The witnesses of Lazarus’s resurrection spread the news, and a large crowd escorted Jesus into Jerusalem in a triumphant procession (John 12:12-15).

However, some who witnessed Lazarus’s resurrection were not impressed. These unbelievers went to the Pharisees as if to report a crime. The chief priests and Pharisees decided that they could not let Jesus go on like this. Why did they want to stop these miracles? In their office of rigid authority, they were no match for the exuberance of resurrection from the dead. The people were turning away from them. The chief priests were also convinced that their nation would be destroyed by Rome if the people followed Jesus. In their discussion, the high priest unwittingly offered words of prophecy: “It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish,” (John 11:50). Jesus would die for humanity.

As the people continued to flock to see Jesus and Lazarus, the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well. They could not tolerate this living proof that Jesus was the Son of God. After they had arrested Jesus and presented Him to Pilate, the chief priests had to offer some sort of charge against Jesus. They finally told Pilate, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). They were referring to the death penalty for blasphemy stated in Leviticus 24:16. This charge would have been validated if Jesus had not already proven his divinity many times, particularly through the resurrection of Lazarus just a few weeks before. That miracle left enough evidence for convincing people of the truth about Jesus.

Jesus was taken outside the city to complete the ultimate work of love. There the unbelieving priests saw Jesus’s agony on the cross as the final evidence that He was helpless. They derided Him, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matt. 27:40). Their deceived minds could not comprehend that Jesus was willingly suffering agony and death because of love. To this day, the central objection of the Jews against Christianity is that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.

There on the cross, the Son of God, the Source of life, gave up his spirit in death. Incomprehensibly, the Creator of life was able to die; He could only do it of his own volition. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).

The morning did come when Jesus arose and stepped out of his own grave. He had completed his work! Now He offers hope for every sinner lying wrapped in the grave-clothes of guilt. By purchasing our redemption, He can freely raise every sinner to an eternal, spiritual life. Do you believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God? Will you heed his voice?

Questions

1. The people of Jerusalem turned away from the dead administration of the priests to embrace the joy of resurrection. Are we drawing people today with living joy?
2. Did Jesus struggle to accept his own death? (Heb. 5:7-8).
3. Are we inclined to deception like the chief priests, twisting every touch from God to align with our own thinking?
4. Can we seek resurrection without first dying to self? (John 12:24-25).

Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).