LAZARUS LESSON

The Lord has arrived on the scene! But many of us have experienced a “death” of some sort in our lives. The death of a dream, a hope, or a part of our personality. We feel that He has come to late, just like Mary and Martha felt when Lazarus died. And then Jesus came.

When He arrived, He told them to take away the stone from his grave. He used other people to begin the restoration process in Lazarus. Some argued with Him, that Lazarus’ body would smell badly by then. But Jesus commanded the stone be moved anyway. There was effort put forth by those moving the stone, who may or may not have believed something good was about to happen.

Then Jesus called Lazarus forth. Lazarus, having been dead three days, heard the Voice of the Lord and came out…bound still in his grave clothes…but out he came! Then Jesus commanded again, those around him, to “loose him and set him free!” Take off those smelly grave clothes so he can live again.

Grave clothes would be smelly. They may be hard to unwind. Lazarus may have flinched or resisted (like a child from whom a band aide is being removed). It may have hurt a bit. Lazarus’ skin may not have been used to the blood flowing through his veins and may have been numb or tingly. The Bible doesn’t say, but it stands to reason that the task of “loosing” him was neither pleasant nor simple.

I feel like the Lord is saying that He is calling forth the dead areas in us now. We respond, even in our deadness, to His Voice. Yet, we appear still wrapped in grave clothes, perhaps unable to truly comprehend His calling. We may be finding it hard to believe we are alive again. Numbness and “touchiness” may plague us momentarily. That is why He has set us in families. We need each other. We need only to obey what the Lord tells us to do for each other, not to judge the potential outcomes. God will give us the strength to roll away the stones, strip off the grave clothes, etc. as we step out in commitment to obedience and to support each other.

The main thing that Lazarus and all those who loved him, and the main thing that we, who are alive again by the Spirit of the Lord, need to remember is: Lazarus came out of that grave! And he came out well…not still suffering from whatever put him in the grave in the first place. When Jesus calls us out…He sets us free! The past no longer has any hold on us. And even the smell of the past deadness is gone by the power of Jesus’ Name!