Lenten Devotion 25 March 2011

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, tho, Lord: I believe that though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. 28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. 30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. 31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. 32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! 37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? 38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. 39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. John 11:25-44

I feel that we have been climbing a great, lone mountain in this chapter. Christ now utters a mighty and profound truth around which our salvation is gathered: I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. His is the life that transcends all time and eternity. His promise is the life that continues beyond the grave. Though we die in this mortal body, yet we are alive in our Ark of Christ which rises all the higher the greater the calamity below. Only God’s clearly stated Word can do justice to this promise and our descriptive adjectives fail us to come near in explanation. 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Whosoever liveth and believeth? Once our last breath is taken, there is no longer opportunity for decision – it must be made while we yet live in these bodies. We must not gamble away valuable moments – NOW is the time of decision for Christ! Though he were dead, yet shall he live! There is no death in the life of the Christian. If we are safe in our Ark of Christ, we shall rise as the Ark has risen! NO DEATH!

Do not overlook the significance of the first two words of Jesus’ statement – “I AM!” - not I was, or I shall be, but “I AM” from before the foundations of the worlds and beyond the dying of the suns. If we are in Christ, WE ARE from this time forward beyond the Space-Time Continuum and into Eternity Future. The comforting point is that this also includes the dead (in our sense) in Christ!

The faith of Martha gives off a spark on understanding, but the whole understanding is yet to be realized. But she believes enough to know Him. Yea, Lord; I believe thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. We may not comprehend (and certainly cannot) the fullness of the character of God, but to believe and know His Son is sufficient of faith.

And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee It appears that Martha, in her characteristic zeal to ‘get the job done’, has told a little white lie to her sister for it is not recorded that Christ asked for Mary. Of course, such a casual request may not have been recorded. But we are told that Martha called Mary “secretly”. She knows, perhaps, that Mary is hurt by what she misconceives as her ardent love for Christ being scorned by His seeming indifference to the predicament of her brother Lazarus. Not knowing the power and mind of Christ, Mary cannot know what Christ is about to do. We are told that Mary, on hearing Martha’s report, arose and came to Christ quickly. This is the same Mary who loved to sit at the feet of Christ. Now she has sat in her parlor delaying going out to Him at first as Martha had done. The Jewish friends who had come to the house to mourn the loss of Lazarus were blind to that love that compelled Mary forth to Christ. In their reasoning, she was “gone to the grave to weep there.” In fact, Mary had not gone to the place of death, but the One in whom there was no room or place for death –“the Resurrection and the Life!” Yet, when she fell at His feet, Mary asked the same question as her sister: “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” Though an outright statement, the statement is an implied question.

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept. Why did Jesus groan in His spirit at the sight of the mourners? He was troubled. Why? We are not told outright, but the context of the scene, as well as knowing the nature of Christ, are indicators of the reasons. He did not groan for Lazarus for He knew that Lazarus was not finally dead. He was not troubled over the sorrow of the women, for He knew their sorrow would be turned to joy in a matter of minutes. It is possible that Christ was troubled that His friends, who had known Him intimately and seen His many works of wonder, did not seem to know Him fully – that He was the Lord, also, of Life itself. “Jesus wept.” Though the shortest verse in the Bible, it is also the most poignant. I am often impressed with the notion that my own lack of faith and obedience may cause a precious tear of Christ to well up in His eye of love and compassion.

Some of the Jews remarked: “Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?” They focus is upon death and not upon the LIFE that Christ offers.

Jesus said, Take ye away the stone! What powerful command is this! God will do a work that no man has before witnessed, yet He allows us a part in the work. We may roll away the stone to demonstrate our faith that something of wonder will be done by our Lord.
How many stones of ignorance and faithlessness block the way of sinners in coming to Christ? May our living and teaching not remove some of these cumbersome stones from their way? We are now to witness a profound and memorial event!
Martha simply cannot believe the power of the Christ whom she knows to be the literal Son of God. Her ability to see beyond common measures is limited by her lack of fully understanding what it means to be the Son of God. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. She, too, is focused on the tragedy of death and not the hopefulness of life. In her understanding, the length of death is a measure of the eternity of it. Though Abraham died thousands of years ago, yet he lives today, for God is not the God of the dead, but the living!

Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? As I write these words, I am overcome at the intensity of this statement! Though we may be secure in our salvation, yet we still are unable to comprehend the immensity of the power of God. In my private prayers and devotions, I often repeat the words of the father of the child possessed of a devil: 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark 9:23-24 The mighty powers of heaven are about to be concentrated on the least of all things – a dead body in a stone tomb in an unremarkable community in an unremarkable land, and that before observers who cannot comprehend the measure of the miracle about to be performed before their very eyes!

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. If Christ can return thanks to His Heavenly Father for granting the powers to do great good, can we not also return thanks for His doing of the great good to us? Our lives are a sermon to the unbelieving world.

. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. Are my ears worthy to hear this final commandment, even to ears that are dead? Yes, Christ spoke with a loud voice – so loud that it penetrated the stone casing of the tomb. So loud that it entered and fell upon the ears that had been dead four days (no matter the length of time). So loud that it transcended the eternities of time. So loud that the Voice entered in the dead and lifeless heart of Lazarus and thereby sparked an impulse that made that dead heart no longer dead. The heart responded, and life-giving blood again pulsed through a body that had already begun decay. No longer! The very cells and tissue came alive and responded to that Loud Voice! Death cannot exist in the presence of life. Darkness cannot abide the force of Light! Spirit of Lazarus was returned to his lifeless body, and Lazarus WAS ALIVE! That Loud Voice echoes down the annals of time and completely off the charts into eternity! That same Voice will one day beckon to another dead body that belongs to you and me and all others who know Christ as Lord and Savior.

And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Lazarus, because of the habits of mankind, was bound hand and foot in grave clothes. He was blinded, too, by the napkin that covered his face. Without Christ, we, too, are bound hand and foot by our deadness in sin. We are blind and know not the way. But Christ commands, “ Loose him, and let him go How can I add any word of meaning to this last command? It sums up the whole of what Christ does for us if we only will believe and come to Him in faith. His Grace will set us free!