The story gives us a unique insight into a man who saw the world
crafted and can even see the smallest need we have. Allow me the
pleasure of encouraging you from John eleven, verses seventeen through
forty-four. By the end, you may wanna make like Mick Jagger and roll
some stones away.
—
Jesus heard about a buddy who died, and he purposefully waited to go to the funeral. How kind.
When my grandmother died, I did not want to go the funeral
at all. I wanted to maybe show up before everyone else and grieve.
Grieving is something worthwhile to do alone, but also in a group with
loved ones. So why would the savior savor the days of grieving and hold
up on showing up? Either he is a jerk, has a broken clock, or has a
broken heart over a broken world and has to time his healing so it’ll be
in a more potent position.
Four days after Lazarus died, Jesus walked two miles into Bethany
town. Martha ran to meet Jesus. Mary stayed back at the house to mourn
(you remember Mary–she was the one who poured expensive perfume on his
feet). It was their brother who died. Why wouldn’t the guy who
promises eternal life come save their brother’s regular life? You can
imagine what thoughts were rolling through Martha’s mind as she met the
Messiah on the outskirts of Main Street, “Lord, if you were here Lazarus
would still be alive!”
Frustration with the Heavenly Father… sound familiar? But what does she say next?
“But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” And
cue the tears. The hotness behind the eyes, the trembling chest and
quivering lips. The prerequisite of weeping. The groanings of a
grieving sister. The odd sounds only a broken heart can make. The
release of pent up anger-sadness. The weeping. She wished so bad that
Jesus was there. But he wasn’t. But now he is. So now what?
“Your brother will rise again.” He said. “At Resurrection day, yes, I know the doctrine.”
“No, no. I am resurrection. I am life. Folks who believe in me, may die, but I will make them live. And when they live believing in me, they will never truly die. You believe that?”
—
Martha went to tell her sister Mary, “The teacher is here.” The
teacher. You see, the end of her brother’s life did not mark the end of
hope. In all the darkness God still had good news. He still has some
stuff to show off. Thank God.
—
As they approached the tomb, Jesus lost it. He bitterly wept. Not
the gentle crying of watching an abandoned puppy dog on a TV commercial
cry, but a weeping brought on by the anger and sadness of a broken
world. So the God who spoke and caused worlds to spin still stayed in
touch enough to stay connected to his kids. He cried with them.
Thankfully while staying connected he is still big enough to have a
solution!
“Roll the stone away.” He said to the people gathered. “Get that rock out of the entrance to the tomb.”
“Look Jesus, Lazarus is decaying by now. It’ll stink…”
There is no deterring Jesus. “Roll it away.” He said. Surprisingly
enough, there was no odor of death. Only sound of the savior shouting,
“Lazarus, come out!”
And boom! The first and only reference of a mummy in the Bible.
Lazarus got up from the dead. “Now loosen the linen-wraps off him,
and let him go.” You can’t be made alive and thrive while wearing the
casket clothes of your past.
—
So, sometimes for God to heal us, we got to uncover some things.
Whether it is at the altar at church, during a walk in the park, or
kneeling at your bedside, roll the stone away from that tomb where you
have embalmed your problems and allowed them to rot you away. Don’t be
afraid of the stench. Jesus can handle it. You may have wondered like
Mary and Martha why it took Jesus so long to come, but hey, he’s here
now. He will cry with you, and once you let him in, he’ll shout out,
“Now get up! You’re free!”
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