When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’ John 11:43-44 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.43-44.NIVUK It was 1999 and I was leading a small missions team to help a little church in Medgidea in south eastern Romania. I was staying with the Puiu family. The husband, Petrica, was a really great guy. A handyman by trade and with a big social conscience, he started an outreach project I described in another meditation that was benefiting the poorest of his town greatly. While we were walking through the town, he told me that he had worked for the national railways, CFR, under communism. I was curious. My dad had also been a railwayman. I asked him what he did. This was his description: "Well, I was a young lad then. We'd come down for our shift, clock in, stand around on the platform pretty much doing nothing all day and then clock out. That was it." Anyone coming from a capitalist society, with its stress and long hours, will look at his description in utter horror. Now, I do not believe for one second that capitalism is perfect. Absolutely not. There are winners and there are losers. I've spent enough time on the wrong end of that to know that it's not always on merit and isn't always just. But at the same time, no company can function properly unless its workers actually produce something. The communist utopian dream of full employment can only work when people are actually gainfully employed. The reason why so many state-owned enterprises went bust when communism failed is because they were so uncompetitive due to employing far too many people who did far too little. It isn't good for our economy, or for our sense of dignity or self-respect, if we are unproductive. We must work. In the same way, we would have a real problem if we were made to wait on God intervening on our behalf, but there was little chance He actually would. We could tolerate being asked to wait because there is a higher purpose behind it. And we can take some comfort from Jesus standing with us and weeping with us. But if our circumstances would never change? I think we would all struggle with that. I think we'd also have a problem of there was a higher plan or purpose in our waiting, and we knew Jesus will intervene some day, but He didn't provide us with any comfort in the meantime. That would be a cold, heartless thing to do. And our God is neither of these. Likewise, if Jesus stood beside us and wept with us but intervened without there being some sort of higher purpose or plan, I think we would struggle with that too. It would be too chaotic, driven by emotion and not wisdom or knowledge.
What we see here, then, is a perfect reflection of God's character. There are times when we have to wait. And these times are good for us in the long run (Romans 8:28), even though they can be indescribably painful. But Jesus stands firmly beside us, weeping with us, and one day will intervene to save us from the pain. Just like us, Jesus must work (John 5:17), but this is not work for work's sake. No, this is work guided by both a plan and by the strong emotions of someone who cares deeply for us and who only inflicts pain on us if there really is no other way (Lamentations 3:33). As I said at the beginning, there is no doubt that this is an utterly outstanding miracle. According to one Rabbinical tradition, ‘Grief reaches its height on the third day. For three days the spirit hovers about the tomb, if perchance it may return to the body. But when it sees the fashion of the countenance changed, it retires and abandons the body.’ In other words, the Jews believed that, as Lazarus had been dead for four days at least, there was no way he could be resurrected. He had passed. His body was now lying cold in the grave. He was beyond help. Which is exactly why this was such an outstanding miracle that shocked them to the core (John 11:45-50). There is no clearer statement other than His own resurrection in all of Scripture which so eloquently declares who Jesus is. And yet we must understand that this miraculous intervention is constructed on the twin foundation of His plan for lives and His compassion for us. This is always true. Even when life is hard. Even when we have to wait. Even when we can't see how God can possibly bring any good from our situation. God's plan and His love for us are unwavering. Mary, Martha and Lazarus found this out in a situation that truly was beyond hope. We will too, when we trust in God. The mechanics of this resurrection are incredibly poignant. They revolve around four things Jesus said: ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. John 11:34 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.34.NIVUK Do you think that Jesus didn't know? What? The Man who knew that Lazarus had died and that He would raise Lazarus from the dead? Of course He knew! But for the miracle to take place, Mary and Martha had to take Jesus to the place where the body lay. It's the same for us. In order to recover from one of these horrible periods when we have to wait, we need to be prepared to take Jesus 'where the bodies are' - to the places in our life where we have fallen short and failed. This is not at all easy. It can be just as painful as the wait itself. However, there can be no recovery without acknowledging where we have gone wrong (1 John 1:8-10). Note: where we have gone wrong. This should be when we confess our own wrongdoing to God. No matter how much other people have hurt us, we are responsible for our own 'dead bodies', not theirs. Secondly, we see this: Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ John 11:38-40 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.38-40.NIVUK Jesus instructed them to open up the grave - a grave that would have stunk because of the rotting body within it. For us to recover, it's not enough simply to show Jesus 'where the bodies are'. No, we need to allow Him in to the parts of our life that are out of reach of other people because we are ashamed of them. He has to have access to our greatest weaknesses and failings. This, again, is difficult. These are parts of our lives where we don't want others to go. But if Jesus is not Lord of all then He is not Lord at all. He wants truth and integrity even in these places (Psalm 139:3-4). He heavily criticised the Pharisees for their lack of integrity (Matthew 23:27). In order to be fully restored, Jesus wants to fix our character as well as our situation, and this means opening everything up to Him, even the parts of our being that we find repulsive. Jesus is not done there. When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ John 11:43 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.43.NIVUK He now calls the dead man out from his tomb! The man who has been dead for four days! The man whose remains are rotting! The man who is the source of the bad smell and the grief! The words that created the world (Genesis 1), that quickened an army of bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14), these same words bring life into a corpse and raise him from the dead. This is your God. This is your Lord. When everything is lost, when there is absolutely no way forward, when everyone has lost hope, He simply says the word and everything changes. But note something and note it well: Lazarus has to obey this word and leave his tomb. There are things you may have gotten used to while waiting. There are ways of thinking and acting that you think are reasonable and you can justify in a heartbeat. But before God these things can be wrong. They might be comfortable, but they are as deadly as the grave. You must be willing to leave them behind. You must be willing to have your mind renewed (Romans 12:2). You must be willing to step outside into the blinding sunlight and start all over again. Otherwise you will be unable to rise. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’ John 11:44 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.44.NIVUK Sometimes you will need the help of other people - of friends, a pastor, a parent or even a professional - to help you leave behind the entanglements of the grave where you once lived. Let them help you. Be done with false pride. What matters is that you rise up once more. Trust God, step out into the light, and let the people you love remove your grave clothes. They don't suit you. They aren't needed. They just aren't a good look. Not for someone who is alive. This is an outstanding miracle. No-one in Jesus' day or even now could ever repeat anything like this. But at its heart are three people who were prepared to obey Jesus, no matter how crazy or ridiculous it looked. They dared, in a thoroughly negative situation, to take him to the grave, to open it, to allow Him to call their deceased brother out and remove his grave clothes. Friends, our situation may appear to be beyond help now, but I'm sure it's nowhere near as bad as this. Let's put our faith in the God who has a plan, whose heart beats for us and who is able - more than able - to carry out amazing miracles on our behalf. And when He calls, let's follow Him and do what He says.
Comentarios