13 WHAT WOULD YOU DO AFTER A RAISING?

13

What Would You Do After a Raising?

Jesus wept.

Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "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." John 11:41-44

Hey, that would get my attention. I've visited a lot of graveyards in my day. They make nice quite places to walk, plus I've traveled hither and yon looking for family tombs. I've attended a few funerals, too. I've seen some dead body in hospitals and homes. None of them ever got up and walked around. Nobody dead ever came shuffling out of a tomb more fit than when they went it and none laying on display in their coffin even so much as sat up and said a last goodbye. If someone came along and told a relative of mine, who I knew had been dead four days, to come out of the grave and it happened in front of my eyes, I'd have to take that person pretty seriously.

How about you?

But what kind of serious thoughts would you have?

We kind of sit here and think we would have thrown ourselves at Jesus feet right along side Mary and worshiped Him. We would have been convinced and believed in Him. You like to think that, anyway.

What about the crowd at the scene way back then? Those Jews who had followed Mary down to the grave site. I'm sure that group hurrying along after the woman probably drew others to the scene as well. They heard what Jesus said and saw Him command Lazarus to come out. They saw the dead man step forth alive again.

I think Sebastiano del Plombo's painting, at the top of this post, captures what happened. See all the people in the foreground around Jesus and Lazarus. Some have even been moved to drop beside Christ and kiss the hem of His robe. They obviously are worshipping Him. But what about that group to the left side in the background whispering together, the one pointing. What are they thinking?

Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."

He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. John 11:45-53

So the Raising of Lazarus from the grave wasn't just another miracle along the way or an inspirational story. It was a catalyst leading to the solidification of the plot to kill Jesus. This is the decision of the Sanhedrin, the council of 71, the Jewish Supreme Court and Legislative Body in Judea during the Roman times. It consisted of Pharisees, Sadducees, Priests and the top minds of the day. (It is interesting that there is an effort underway today to reestablish the Sanhedrin.)

They are afraid of what? They are afraid "everyone will believe in him". Why is that so bad? Because if enough people begin following Christ, Rome will see it as a threat and come down on the nation of Israel so these fellows are very concerned for the welfare of their nation. But wait, what did they put first in their concerns? "The Romans will come and take away both our place...and our nation."

Caiaphas, the High Priest then declares the death sentence: "You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."

It then tells us something amazing, which is Caiaphas had predicted Jesus would die for the Jewish Nation and also for the scattered children of God, bringing them together as one. He was actually absolutely right. Jesus would die, it would be in part for the Jewish Nation (as well as the whole world) and eventually, in the end times, God will bring His scattered children together and make them one. (Caiaphas statement contains some truth as well. It was the plan that one man should die [Jesus] that the whole [world] shouldn't perish.)

So, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb it was the sealing of His own not so far away death and resurrection.

In Jesus' ministry sometime after this point, He tells a parable about a Beggar and a Rich Man who both die and find themselves on opposite sides of a chasm in the afterlife. The Rich Man is in torment; The Beggar is in Paradise. The Rich Man asks for The Beggar to be sent back to convince the Rich Man's family to believe and repent.

I think when Jesus told this parable he chose the name Lazarus for The Beggar on purpose. The Raising of Lazarus of Bethany was still fresh in people's minds and Jesus knew it had led to the plot to kill Him. And what is the conclusion of the parable:

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " Luke 16:27-31

And they weren't.

Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't he coming to the Feast at all?" But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him. John 11:54-57

Jesus is going to return to Bethany and we are going to meet Martha, Lazarus and Mary for the last time where another key event will be put in motion. Stay tuned.

Illustration: "The Raising of Lazarus" by Sebastiano del Plombo, 1517-19