RAISING OF LAZARUS

The Bible tells us that there is one time in our life, when we are utterly powerless: ‘No one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that war’, Ecclesiastes chapter 8 verse 8. A family, who lived in the town of Bethany, discovered the truth of this. Mary and Martha, lived there, with their brother, Lazarus, Tragedy struck, when Lazarus fell sick and died! The sisters had sent for Jesus before he died. They recognised He had the power to heal the sick. To their dismay, He stayed where He was for two days, saying, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God., that the Son of God may be glorified through it’, John chapter 11 verse 4.

As far as the two sisters were concerned, this was ’the end of the road’. Healing the sick was one thing, but raising the dead was another thing altogether. They did not appreciate that Jesus was the only Man who had power in the day of death! For Him, death was but sleep.

All the sisters and mourners could do was to weep at the grave. Jesus wept too, verse 35, but for a different reason. When He came to the grave, He saw the ravages caused by sin on God’s creation and creatures. It touched His heart and drew tears from His eyes. He knew that to release mankind from the bondage of sin and death, it meant that He would have to suffer and die on the cross!

But praise God, He demonstrated His power in the DAY OF DEATH. His shout of authority, ‘Lazarus, come forth’, verse 43, stirred Lazarus, set him free and gave him life. Jesus proved the truth of the words he had said earlier to Martha, verse 25, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live’. Martha responded, ‘Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world’, verse 27.

Do YOU believe this?