Spoken Into Life
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”John 11:25-26
In this final “character Gospel,” we hear of the “raising of Lazarus.” Notice that it is not the “resurrection” of Lazarus. So far, Jesus has told His disciples that He is the living water in the encounter with the Samaritan woman and that He is the light of the world when He cures the man who has been blind from birth. Today we hear Jesus say He is the resurrection and the life. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were good friends with Jesus and upon hearing that Lazarus was sick, instead of quickly making His way to him, Jesus stayed where He was for another two days. Does that make sense? Wouldn’t you want to rush to your loved one who is sick? How could Jesus treat one of His best friends this way?
Jesus told His disciples that Lazarus’s illness will not end in death but instead will be used for the greater glory of God. After two days, Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep and so He will go wake him. The disciples are still not quite understanding Jesus and the way He speaks, and so they really think that Lazarus fell asleep. But how would that even make sense? Jesus will walk all the way to Bethany to wake up His sick friend who probably needs all the rest he can? The disciples just do not get Jesus. So, after this, Jesus tells them plainly “Lazarus has died.” They start on their way to Lazarus.
Upon arriving close to the town, Jesus encounters Martha whom has run out to meet Him. Martha expresses her grief while at the same time affirming and confessing her faith in the Lord. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” I can only imagine what Jesus may have felt. Perhaps sadness in seeing His friends so upset and also somewhat disappointed that He was not there to save their brother. But, Jesus has a bigger plan, one that could not have come to fruition if He had ran to Lazarus once He heard he was sick. There is always a bigger plan, a plan in which God will bring about greater good.
Jesus was moved by Mary and Martha’s grief and was “perturbed” or “deeply moved in spirit” at the sight of such sadness. Some commentators say that being deeply moved in spirit here points not to the grief as experienced by the sisters but rather as a result of being in the presence of death. Jesus who is the resurrection and the life, at the sight of death, will naturally have a negative reaction, just like how in the presence of light, darkness scatters, and in the presence of the divine, evil scatters. How can death remain when the Lord of Life is present? And so Jesus raises His eyes towards the heavens, gives thanks to His Father, and commands Lazarus, who has been dead and entombed for four days now, to come out. Upon hearing the voice of Jesus, Lazarus walks out in his burial cloths. Lazarus was spoken into life once again by the Lord. The words of Jesus has the power to bring the dead back to life, hearkening back to Genesis when the Lord created the universe by simply speaking, “Let there be light.” When Jesus speaks, something amazing happens and even the dead listens to Him and follows His commands.
Remember in the beginning I mentioned that the word to describe this miracle was “raising from the dead” and not “resurrection.” That is so because although Lazarus has been called back to life, he will die again. Only Jesus has resurrected, and on the last day, we pray that we too might share in that Resurrection in our glorified bodies.
Do we believe that the words of Jesus has power to save and to bring to reality what seems impossible? Do we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Do we listen to Him? May we listen to the Voice who calls out to us today and may we ask the Lord to grant us the grace and strength to follow Him, who is the resurrection and the life.
