P. Pilgrim –
The Bible is full of narrations of what happened to the children of Israel, both in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. There are love stories, stories of war, history, poetry, even geography is found in its pages. It is a living book that no matter how many times you read it, you learn something new.
One of the stories contained in its pages is about the friend of Jesus a man called Lazarus. Jesus Christ himself says he is my friend. Lazarus is the brother to Mary and Martha, and they live in the town of Bethany near Jerusalem. He is introduced as a follower of Jesus and on various occasions Jesus Christ visits his home. At the time of this story, Jesus is in another village when Lazarus becomes ill. So, his sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, “he whom thou lovest,” is sick. They hope that Jesus will come back and heal Lazarus, as Jesus had healed many people before. However, Jesus does something strange, he intentionally remains where he is. He continues his work and does not return for his friend. What a strange thing to do! Then the Lord Jesus Christ tells his disciple, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God,”, Sometime later Lazarus dies. The sisters are heartbroken. If only his friend had come in time. When Jesus arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead and has already been in his tomb for four days. Christ tries to comfort the two sisters, he reminds them both of the resurrection of the dead. He then says some wonderful words, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”. Christ goes to see the tomb and scripture records that he weeps over the tomb of his friends. So much so that the other mourners take note of how much he loved his friend. Then Christ asks them to open the tomb, what a strange request, the body would have already started to rot and therefore there would be a strong, pungent odour. Martha reminds Jesus Christ of this fact, but Christ just reminds her of the resurrection. So, the stone at the door of the tomb is removed and Jesus prays to God his father. When he had finished praying, he spoke with a loud voice, “Lazarus come forth”. Immediately Lazarus comes out of the tomb still wrapped in his grave clothes. What a miracle, Christ had raised a dead man back to life with only the voice of his command. The town of Bethany was transformed from a town of sadness and mourning to town of rejoicing and gladness for what Christ had done. People came from all over the region to see Lazarus who was dead but now liveth.
You and I are like Lazarus, we are dead because of our sins which separate us from God. But Christ says, I want to be your friend, but you must believe on me, no matter how hard that might be. “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” You and I can be raised from the deadness of sin and brought to life, peace with God, freed from the guilt of sin, and redeemed by the blood of Christ, by simply believing on his name. As he brought one friend back to life, so he will bring all his friends, those who believe on his name back to life in the resurrection. Lazarus is a miraculous signal of what is true for all believers that there will be a resurrection. What happened to Lazarus was a glimpse of glory, power and majesty of God. Are you a friend of Jesus? Have you come to believe in his name to enjoy the forgiveness of sins and have peace with God. This story is found in the gospel of John chapter 11 verses 1 – 45, in the New Testament.
