John 11:39-44

John 11:39-44 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 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 around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Jesus did not follow a pattern of behavior resulting in the greatest benefit to his friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. He followed a course of action and spoke words benefitting those who witnessed these events, the onlookers. Certainly, from the moment He delayed his coming, Christ's choices did not present the easiest route for Lazarus. While one might argue, "Well, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, did He not? That was an amazing gift." Yet rather that coming to his aid when first learning of Lazarus' sickness, Jesus tarried, staying away from Judea. He literally ignored his friend's need and allowed Lazarus to remain in the grave four days. When He tells them to take away the stone, Martha warns, But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor. Undaunted, Jesus does not speak of graves and the death smells, He says, Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? He directs the people's attention to God and the Father's desire to reveal his glory through the Son. Then He turns from the people, further establishing his authority by speaking of the One who sent him, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. Dispelling any confusion over his purposes, his prayer explains to his hearers what God most surely knows, I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.

Now He is ready: ready to do the work of his Father. Jesus calls out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Led by the Spirit of God, obedient to his Father as an instrument of his power and authority, Jesus gives living testimony to his previous words:

When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. (John 8:28-29

Therefore, Jesus speaks in a loud voice so those present might hear, and He commands people to take off the grave clothes. Had Jesus come merely as a friend to this much-loved family to serve them most advantageously and lovingly, He would have hurried to Lazarus' bedside upon hearing he was sick unto death. Had he arrived too late to touch his friend and to restore health to him, he would not have ordered someone else to do anything for his friend. We can picture Jesus speaking softly to the Father, asking him to roll the stone away and to bring Lazarus forth. Jesus would have been the first to lovingly unclothe Lazarus' body from the strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. But Jesus did not act in these ways on that momentous day. The will of God that day was to magnify Jesus Messiah, Son of God, Name above all names: the only name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) Jesus walked among them to do God's will.

We who are alive IN CHRIST have been bought with a price: our lives are no longer our own. We no longer live merely for ourselves but for others as well. Even when God delivers us from a trial or heals us from an affliction, He has greater purposes than merely making our earthly lives smoother and better. We should magnify Christ in all we do. Miracles and deliverances bless and restore us, yet how we deal with hardships, struggles and death itself often provides more effective testimony to the lost and the hurting who seek authenticity and a faith that stands when all else is sinking sand. God allows us to face difficult circumstances. If this were not so, we would not find so many martyrs in church history. Peter wrote: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. (1 Peter 4:12) James minced no words in saying, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:24)

Some modern brethren from the name it and claim it camp chastise those God trusts with hard times when they say, "I have asked for healing and deliverance and am believing still; but since God has allowed this trial, I will praise and glorify him in it and sing praises to his name by faith. Regardless of my earthly state, I know my Redeemer lives and makes intercession for me." The body of Christ has always experienced great tribulation: every generation has gone to be with the Lord in victory, not in defeat because their hope was in eternity with God not in temporal things that pass away. Even if an angel preaches something else, do not believe him. Christ himself suffered and died, and we are not greater than our Master. Christ endured the cross for the JOY set before him, saying: Father, not my will, but yours be done. Whatever is happening in your life today, cry out to Jesus, put your trust in him. Maybe you seek normalcy--to just be an ordinary person like Jesus perhaps wanted to go take care of his friend Lazarus, but God had other plans for him. Or perhaps you had a mountaintop experience recently; now the mundaneness of life seems so unsatisfactory. Others of you face a dark valley, and you are weary, do not see a light on the path ahead. We have had some hard days--a hard time getting the breakfasts out. Nonetheless, our hope is to rise, for the light has come! Jesus is the Light: He is in us and with us! He will not lead us astray. Call out to Jesus; hear his voice. He knows how to deal with every circumstance. He will remove the grave clothes, place royal robes around us, and lead us to the Land of Promise.