The Raising of Lazarus
The Raising of Lazarus
While meditating on God’s word with my husband, after one of my loved ones passed away, the Lord reminded me of the story of Lazarus.
It’s quite lengthy, but please read in its entirety, especially the words that have been bolded or underlined. Also, please pray to God to reveal whatever He wants to show or say to you during this time.
1A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha.
2This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick.
3So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”
4But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”
5So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,
6he stayed where he was for the next two days.
7Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
8But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
9Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world.
10But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.”
11Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”
12The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!”
13They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
14So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
15And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”
16Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”
17When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.
18Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem,
19and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss.
20When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house.
21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.
22But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
23Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24“Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
Jesus is the resurrection and the life
25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
26Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
27“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” 28Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.”
29So Mary immediately went to him.
30Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him.
31When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there.
32When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34“Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”
35Then Jesus wept.
36The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”
37But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
38Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.
39“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
40Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”
41So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.
42You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”
43Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”
44And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
A Closer Look
God reminded me of this story as I meditated on His word while grieving the loss of my loved one. He reminded me that Jesus too had to deal with grief and loss of a loved one. Lazarus was a good friend to Jesus and yet, he passed away while He was out of town.
With Lazarus’ passing, Jesus was reminded of what sin was doing to us. Not only was sin causing us physically death, but spiritually death as well. Jesus remembered why He came to earth in humanly form, to pay for our sins with His own life (by dying for us on the cross) to redeem us back to God. After being dead for three days, He rose from the grave and conquered death. Why? Because God loves us that much that He did what needed to be done to get us back! Jesus, the son of God, loves us and especially His Father that He was obedient even unto death. Hints why His name is above ALL names.
So, although we may physically die, that isn’t the end for us! By truly accepting Christ into our lives (before we pass away), after we die we live (spiritually) in heaven with God for eternity!
By God reminding me of this, during my husband and my meditation time with Him, it brought me a tremendous amount of peace because I knew that my loved one is now in the best place possible (back home with Jesus).
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for your unconditional love for us. Thank You for coming into this world to forgive us of our sins and to redeem us back to You. Thank You for being good. I just bless and honor You God!
Abba, this year has been challenging for many of us. Many of us are dealing with hurts and losses of many kinds. So Father I just speak Your peace on everyone that is dealing with hurt and loss. I thank You for comforting them and reminding them that You are ALWAYS there for and with them. Thank You for never leaving us or forsaking us! I thank You for always lifting us up when we are down (even if our own actions caused us to stumble). Thank You for Your Faithfulness God!
I thank You, Abba, for a greater understanding of Your love. Help us to experience more of You. Please remove any and every hinderances and distractions that wants to hinder our growth in You.
I thank You, Jesus! And it’s in Your Mighty name that I pray, Amen!
