I'll be referring to John 11:1-44.
Lazarus was a friend of Jesus, one whom Jesus loved dearly (v3). Mary came to Jesus and told him that Lazarus was sick. Jesus replied “This sickness will not end in death; but [on the contrary it is] for the glory and honor of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” (V 4).
Now, were I Mary, I would be thinking "sweet! Jesus is gonna do what he does...I'll go home and Lazarus will be healed and all will be well!" This is not at all what happens...lets continue on.
It goes on to say that Jesus loved and was deeply concerned for Lazarus given his sickness and Mary, so he stayed near for 2 more days. Then he decided to go to Judea- although scripture doesn't directly say why. What we do know, based on previous scripture and the nature of Jesus, is that He only did what he saw the Father do, and only went where he was called to go. Somewhere in that span of time, Lazarus died.
V 17 " So when Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb [c]four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away; 19 and many of the Jews had come to see Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning [the loss of] their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house...32 When Mary came [to the place] where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her sobbing, and the Jews who had come with her also sobbing, He was [f]deeply moved in spirit [to the point of anger at the sorrow caused by death] and was troubled,34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him [as a close friend]!”37 But some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the blind man’s eyes, have kept this man from dying?”
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an offensive odor, for he has been dead four days! [It is hopeless!]” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe[in Me], you will see the glory of God [the expression of His excellence]?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes [toward heaven] and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 I knew that You always hear Me and listen to Me; but I have said this because of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You have sent Me [and that You have made Me Your representative].” 43 When He had said this, He shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 Out came the man who had been dead, his hands and feet tightly wrapped in burial cloths (linen strips), and with a [burial] cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and release him.”
First of all, Jesus made a promise to Mary that Lazarus's sickness would not end in death, but would bring about the Glory of God. And it's clear just a few verses down that Mary was upset and confused that Jesus didn't heal Lazarus as he said he would. In her mind, he was DEAD for good, and the one whom she loved and trusted, Jesus, all-powerful, did not keep his promise.
How many of us have been in the same boat? God promised something and it didn't end up at all as we expected? There are two things I'd like to point out in this scripture: The first is that Jesus was not angry with Mary for voicing her distrust, anger and grief over her feelings of betrayal and loss. In fact, Jesus turns and it says "He was deeply moved in spirit to the point of anger at the SORROW caused by death." Do you have an area of your life that is squelched by the sorrow caused by death? Whether that's the death of a dream, a person, a relationship or something else- the effect is the same. Sit with that for a moment. The Jesus I know is not flippant about the things we have endured! No- He is moved to the point of anger about the injustices we've endured TOO. The second thing I'd like to point out is that people were quick to accuse Jesus of being absent, "Could he not have done something to keep this man from dying?" Once again- who hasn't been in that situation where we have felt that "God, couldn't you have done something? Jesus, don't you care? Why did you leave me in my hour of need?" I know I have! We have accused him of taking a mental and emotional vacation just when we needed him the most.
Now, Jesus moved to the point of anger at the sorrow caused by death, asks Mary where Lazarus had been buried. She tells him he probably doesn't want to go in there because at this point, Lazarus has been buried for 4 days and the stench would be LEGIT (my words...obviously). Jesus disregards her concern and moves on ahead. He thanks God, and with a loud voice says "LAZARUS! COME OUT!" And out came the man who HAD BEEN DEAD, his hands and feet tightly wrapped in burial clothes... "Unwrap him and release him."
Now...as if this wasn't good enough already, I did some research on the words "unwrap and release" which stood out to me. I believe God wants to release some personal revelation to anyone reading this.
It is a MIRACLE that Jesus called Lazarus by name and out he came. Alive. Breathing. Living again. But it gets EVEN BETTER, because Jesus didnt run away from the stench of death. He did not leave him in his burial clothes and he would not leave him smelling like death. No...He spoke and said "unwrap him and release him."
The word "release" means: deprive of authority, declare unlawful, demolish or destroy, dissolve or overthrow.
Everyone has areas of their lives that have either died or been marked by death. This can be the death of a dream, an illness, a relationship, a person, a job...the possibilities are endless. So often when we feel betrayed or disappointed by circumstances or grief or loss, we end up wearing grave clothes. We carry that sorrow with us like a heavy blanket. It keeps us from moving. It is most certainly not because we want to. Something inside of us dies along with the disappointment or pain and we end up smelling like death, so to speak. Our attitude can become bitter, and pain overflows.
Jesus did not come just to raise Lazarus from the dead to prove a point that he is all-powerful, and will keep his promises. He wasn't on a power trip. He raised Lazarus from the dead to show that he takes authority over death in its entirety. When he called Lazarus out, he didnt leave him in his grave clothes! Jesus doesn't deliver half way. He deprives it of authority completely! Death in our lives is declared unlawful, and in his presence it is demolished, destroyed, and is overthrown.
I don't know who this word is for, but I have seen this in my own life. Areas of my heart and spirit that have been marked by death. Areas where I wore grave clothes and carried the stench of death, even unknowingly. Times where I felt like Jesus didn't keep his promise and left me in a time of need to die so to speak. This is the thing: Just because it didn't turn out like we expected, doesn't mean that He is finished yet. If something is dead that Jesus has declared life to, then it's not over yet and He is not finished! So we can then take a posture of asking "God, what are you doing here? How can I partner with you in your plan for me?"
To close, Jesus comes back, moved with compassion and anger into the places that have been destroyed, dead or wounded. He doesn't shy away from the smell of death or the hopelessness left in it's wake. He marches in, yells in a loud voice "HEY YOU! Come forth! It's time to live again!" And then He brings other people to unwrap you from your grave clothes, and not only that, He comes to deprive that area of loss of any authority.
That's something to get excited about!
That's something to get excited about!
