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Jesus Defeated Sin and Death for Our Sake!
From John 11: 38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." 45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
Jesus was fully human and fully divine. The human side came out of Jesus in several of His actions. We will see anger at what was going on in the Temple after Palm Sunday, we saw Him crying at Lazarus' tomb, and today we see that the writer says that "Jesus (was) again greatly disturbed" as he approached the tomb. Lazarus had been a friend to Jesus as had Lazarus' two sisters and we see the heaviness of the death of a loved one. It was the custom to bury those whom they could in tombs and usually a heavy stone was placed at the entrance; this Jesus ordered removed. Martha, ever the practical one tells Jesus that there is already a smell from the four days that her brother had been dead. Jesus counters with His reminder that she would see the glory of God. The stone is removed, Jesus looks upward, and in His custom, prayed. "Father, I thank You for having heard me. I knew that You always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." Jesus shared all with God, as should we. Jesus probably prayed this prayer with tears and in private about Lazarus' death, for Jesus knew the impact that death can have on us. Then, to the shock of those standing near, Jesus yells, "Lazarus, come out!" I don't know about you but I would have been a little frightened at the thought that a dead man can rise up again. But this was to glorify God and we then read that Lazarus did come out just as he had been placed in the tomb, bandaged in funeral tradition for the time, strips of cloth on his hands and feet and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus orders Lazarus released and for them to "let him go." It was at that moment that many came to believe in Jesus.
The resurrection of Lazarus was setting the stage for Jesus' own death and resurrection. Jesus wanted the 12 to see and experience this miracle for soon (John 14), He would sharing details of His suffering and death. Jesus wanted the disciples and all who witnessed it to know the glory and power of God. Death was not the end for those who die in Him, nor is it the end for Jesus. This preview was a thing of power and purpose, serving to make stronger the faith of the disciples. This is a miracle, no question about it. There is no way to explain it other than to say God was behind it. Miracles are wonderful, usually unexpected blessings that come without explanation, to be enjoyed and to be more of a reason we worship and praise God. Some are earth-shattering like this one or they're small, private ones that not to many are aware about, nor should they be, for sometimes they come only for our sake. Who knows, the fact you awoke today is a miracle yet not explained. A phone call you may get later today will perhaps bring a miracle to a relationship you had been praying about. An unexpected email from someone you needed to hear from may prove to be a miracle. It's all a matter of perspective and whether you believe you need a miracle or not, God provided His Word to share what God has done in the past and as a clue to what God is, and can do, for you and me.
PRAYER: Loving God, author of life and provider of unexplained blessings, pour out Your love and grace on this dear reader. Bless her/his life in whatever they face and let them come to a deeper joy because of You. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
