A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in
Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. ... But 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." ...
Then He said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and
wake him up." The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, he will
soon get better!" They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping,
but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. So He told them plainly, "Lazarus is
dead. And for your sakes, I'm glad I wasn't there, for now you will really
believe. Come, let's go see him." ... When Jesus arrived at Bethany, He
was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. ... When
Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in
the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my
brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you
whatever you ask." Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise
again." "Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone
else rises, at the last day." Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection
and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone
who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this,
Martha?" "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." ... "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." Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that
you would see God's glory if you believe?" So they rolled the stone aside.
Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing
me. You 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." Then Jesus shouted,
"Lazarus, come out!" And 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!" Many of the people who were with Mary
believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. John 11:1, 4, 11-15, 17,
20-27, 39-45 .
 |
| Heading to the desert in Israel. |
On His journey to the Cross Jesus was faced
with the death of His dear friend Lazarus. God used that incident to show that
Jesus was His Son…and to again demonstrate His power. He had already raised a
young girl from the dead…and now Jesus resurrected Lazarus. Resurrection—raising
Lazarus from the dead. People who came to mourn started rejoicing—Lazarus was
alive. Now they believed that Jesus was the Messiah—powerful enough to conquer
death. But because the Pharisee feared that Jesus would draw more people to
believing in Him and that the Romans would take away their place, they plotted again
to kill Jesus. So Jesus stopped walking around in public and left for a desert
town of Ephraim with His disciples. He stayed there until just before the
Passover when He went back to the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
What did it take to convince you that JESUS
IS THE MESSIAH? Some people had to see a miracle for themselves—the blind could
see, the lame could walk…and now a man was brought back to life! That was a
real convincer. Jesus had more followers…but He also had more opposition. The Cross
was looming before Him…and He was drawing closer to that dreaded time. Would
you have believed if you had heard Jesus call Lazarus out of the grave…and
would you have believed if you had seen Lazarus walking out in his grave
clothes?
Prayer
~ Dear God, I can only wonder at the amazed looks that the crowd must have had
as Lazarus came out of that grave. I believe…without seeing such a miracle.
Continue to open my eyes and ears to the truth that Jesus is the resurrection
and the life. Anyone who believes in Him will live, even after dying. Everyone
who lives in Him and believes in Him will never ever die. just as He said.
Daily
Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 1-3
©
2017 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. Photo by Mickey.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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