COME AND SEE
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Opening Prayer
Loving Savior, continue to show me who you are and who I am in you. I want to be more like you, better able to share your love with others.
Read JOHN 11:32–44
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “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.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 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.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 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.”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering … he will see the light of life and be satisfied.’1
It’s the sounds I notice first: the plaintive weeping of Mary as she throws herself at Jesus’ feet. It’s the wailing of the shuffling crowd who follow her, their Jewish duty and sympathy unwilling to leave her alone. Above all, it’s the deep gutted sobbing of raw anguish and anger coming from Jesus. Hear the clamor of collective mourning, where one loss triggers memories of so many griefs. It was never meant to be this way. God in flesh enters fully—heart, voice, and lungs—into the sorrow and suffering caused by Satan, sin, and death.
Yet for those with eyes to see, there is glory. As the company moves wretchedly to where Lazarus is laid, Jesus walks with purpose. Notice Martha’s misery as she foresees the stench of decomposition now devouring her brother’s body: ‘No, Jesus, it really is not a good idea to have one last look. It’s too late.’ Watch the puzzlement as nonetheless the stone is rolled away and everyone peers into the gloomy darkness. Imagine Jesus picturing his own future, the God-appointed hour soon to come, his vicarious, victorious self-giving response to the world’s tragedy. There, before a baffled crowd of witnesses, a very dead man emerges by the life-giving power of God. While many miracles have been private, this one is very public: a sign pointing to God’s presence and within reach of those who wish Jesus dead.
In the dazzling revelation of God, there is also an invitation. It comes in the shuffling figure of Lazarus, bound by the constraining cloths of burial. As we witness the ongoing work of the Spirit bringing spiritual life to those who dwell in the shadows, we are called to be involved with Jesus’ work, to untie the cords of trauma and consequences of transgression. So the once-dead may be free indeed.
Apply
Pray for Christians you know who have been given a glorious new life in Christ, but need ‘unwrapping’ from grave clothes.
Closing prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for your willingness to suffer a humiliating and painful death so that those who believe in you can live and live victoriously.
1 Isa 53:4, 11
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