38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
The raising of Lazarus from the grave is Jesus’ greatest miracle before His own resurrection, as here, Jesus defeats not just sickness but death itself. There are other recorded cases in the Gospel accounts where Jesus raised the dead, and we can only speculate as to how many others are not recorded, but what makes the raising of Lazarus unique is that Jesus didn’t raise someone who had just died, but a man who had been lying in the grave for four days and whose body was beginning to decompose.
The raising of Lazarus brings to a close the first half of John’s Gospel. The first 11 chapters focus on seven miracles which are signs of Jesus’ deity.
As we look back on the seven signs, we can see a pattern developing as each of these signs builds on the previous ones. The significance of each sign grows until we come to the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
The first of the miracles in the Gospel of John is the turning of water into wine in chapter 2. Here, Jesus is revealed to be the true source of joy and abundant life. The second miracle is the healing of the son of a nobleman in chapter 4. This sign shows that Jesus has power over human sickness and consequently, over sickness of the spirit caused by sin. The third miracle is the healing of the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda in chapter 5. This man represented the helpless spiritual state we all suffer with as a result of sin.
We find the fourth and fifth signs in chapter 6, where Jesus, the bread of life feeds the large crowd not only physically, but also brings spiritual nourishment to the lost, after which He walks on the water, which points to His power over nature. In the sixth miracle Jesus gives sight to the man born blind in chapter 9. The significance of this sign is that sinners are born spiritually blind and are in spiritual darkness. It is only God, through Christ, who can give us spiritual eyesight.
John tells us in chapters 20 and 21 that there were many other signs performed by Jesus, but, inspired by the Holy Spirit, John records only these seven signs for the purpose of pointing the lost to Jesus for salvation, because each miracle, as wonderful as they were for those who benefitted directly from them, has a much deeper spiritual significance for us all. In other words, we may not have been there, and while we weren’t given a physical meal or had our physical blindness healed, we are all beneficiaries of the miracle of salvation when we turn to Christ in repentance and faith.
The climax in John’s Gospel of the signs he recorded is the raising of Lazarus in chapter 11, and the deeper lesson behind this miracle is obvious: We are dead in our sins, but Jesus raises us to spiritual life.
As we’ve seen during the last couple of weeks, Lazarus became ill, and his sisters, Martha and Mary had called for Jesus, but when He arrived, Lazarus had already died. Verse 11 tells us that Jesus wept at the tomb, revealing how God, in His humanity, identifies with His people as He shares in our times of sorrow. We pick up the account today in verse 38, where we’re told that Jesus was “deeply moved again.” Here again, we see that He enters into our sorrow and feels the pain of human suffering, but then He immediately says in verse 39, “Take away the stone.”
There is a sudden and deliberate change in the text here. The Dutch theologian Herman Ridderbos wrote, “Enough now of tears and wailing! Enough honour has been bestowed on death! Against the power of death God’s glory will now enter the arena!”
In the previous verses we are given an insight into the humanity of Jesus, but, being fully God at the same time, He now takes control of the situation.
Martha though, in verse 39 says, “Lord, by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days.” (John 11:39)
Some commentators have been rather critical of Martha’s comment here, saying she was showing a lack of faith, especially when we look at her words in verse 27 which she had spoken only minutes earlier: “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” So while there does appear to be some sort of change in Martha’s faith, we need to remember the circumstances. Lazarus had been dead for four days, and his body would have started to decompose by now.
She still had no idea what Jesus was about to do. As far as Martha was concerned, she believed that Lazarus would be raised on the last day - she’d already said so in verse 24, but she was horrified at the thought of having the stone over Lazarus’ tomb removed. After all, what was she expecting Jesus to do? Walk into this cave which served as a tomb, and go and see Lazarus’ body? Exposing yourself to a dead body in Jewish culture was strictly forbidden. Not only was there a risk of being infected, but there were spiritual implications too. Numbers 19:11 says, “Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.”
When Martha objected to the stone being removed, Jesus’ reply to her in verse 40 was, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” There are many who believe that Jesus’ answer was not so much a rebuke as it was an opportunity to teach Martha and everyone else who was there a valuable lesson in faith.
Whenever Jesus performed a miracle, one of the many purposes was that His disciples’ faith would be strengthened. In Matthew 8 He was asleep in their fishing boat when a storm came up which threatened to sink them. Just before Jesus calmed the storm, He said to them in verse 26, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” And as we’ve already seen, He said to His disciples on the way to Bethany to raise Lazarus, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.” (John 11:14–15)
In verse 25 He said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life,” so when we join the dots, His words in verse 40 make a lot more sense. “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Martha and those with her were about to be given the privilege of seeing just the tiniest glimpse of the power and glory of God. Now there would be no doubt that this was the Christ, the Son of God who is coming into the world.
There’s an old saying that seeing is believing, but the lesson Jesus taught Martha was that if she believes, she will see. It’s in our nature - prove something to be true, then I will believe it, but the Christian faith challenges that old theory of seeing is believing. As Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
It’s hard to really define faith, but the faith to believe that Jesus is who He says He is, is a gift that God gives us. The Gospel message stands directly opposed to rational human thinking and understanding, which is exactly why we need God-given faith to believe in the first place, otherwise we would never believe. But as we grow in grace and in our understanding of the mysteries of God and His ways, we begin to learn to take Him at His Word. When we believe God, taking Him at His Word, then we will see and receive our salvation. Jesus calls for faith first and sight later. Like Martha, we are challenged to believe and see the glory of God.
As we continue, we see that Jesus’ words were enough for Martha. She believed and the stone was removed. So now, having given a lesson in faith, Jesus gives His onlookers an example of faith.
We’re told that Jesus lifted up His eyes as He prayed. This was a typical posture when praying in those times, but Martha was looking down at the difficulties, and all she could see was Lazarus’ grave. It is when we need God the most that our faith needs to be at its strongest. In our own circumstances, especially during our times of struggle, by God’s grace He will make us aware of His power and presence, just as Jesus did for Martha and Mary in John 11.
The first 2 verses of Psalm 121 read, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” God is the Creator of the universe, and nothing is beyond His power. When we look up in faith to Him, we see His power that made all things. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save.”
Jesus then prays, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me,” but then He continues, “but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” (John 11:41–42)
This prayer was not a petition or a request, but a prayer of thanksgiving to the Father. It was the Father’s will that Lazarus be raised from the dead, so Jesus’ prayer in these two verses were not for His benefit, but for those who were there. Jesus gave life to Lazarus so that those who witnessed this miracle would recognise Jesus as the Son of God, and would believe in Him.
This seventh sign, the high point of the Gospel of John so far, is all about the glory of God. Jesus prayed audibly to let the people know that what He was about to do was to bring glory to His Father. He voiced His prayer for the benefit of those who were present.
What else should we learn from this particular miracle? If anything should strengthen our faith in God, it is Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the grave, and of course, His own resurrection. Although the curse of death is inevitable in our fallen world, those who put their faith and trust in Christ will find that the Lord is faithful to deliver us, not from the presence of trials and suffering, or even death itself, but from the power of evil, the power of death, and the power of sin.
During these dark days, God is faithful to His people, and He has promised us the power and perseverance we need to endure every trial of life. We are the ones who have had our spiritual eyes opened to the truth of who Jesus really is, which means we have a responsibility to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel message. The world is watching us.
Jesus prayed aloud, not to draw attention to Himself but to point to God. He wanted all who heard - and there were many there that day - to believe that it was God who sent Him and was at work in Him. Our faith should have a similar effect, by encouraging others to seek their own relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It always has been, and always will be about Him, and not us.
The dramatic events at Lazarus’ grave teach us so much about faith, but its primary purpose is to reveal Jesus not merely as an example of faith, but as the great object of our faith.
We know the story of Lazarus so well, but we can only imagine what it must have been like for those who were there. What were they thinking when Jesus walked up to the tomb, called for the stone to be removed, and, when it was removed, praying as boldly as He did? These were bold claims He made, declaring that God always hears Him and that God had sent Him. Not all of those present were followers and disciples of Jesus, as we will see next week when we conclude chapter 11, so by saying that God always listened to Him, they would have known their unbelief was being challenged by Jesus. But before anyone could do or say anything, Jesus spoke again. “When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus come out.’” (John 11:43)
John tells us that Jesus cried in a loud voice. The reason was not that He needed to shout loudly. Rather, this was a demonstration of His divine authority. This was the same voice that called all of creation into being. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1–3) In John 11:43, that same voice called the dead back to life, because even the grave cannot resist the power of the eternal God.
A. W. Pink wrote in his commentary, “Here was public proof that the Lord Jesus had absolute power over the material world and over the realm of spirits. At His bidding a soul that had left its earthly tenement was called back from the unseen to dwell once more in the body.”
What does this teach us? Quite simply, our only hope for eternal life is in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone. He is the only Saviour. As we come face to face with the certainty of our own death, we look in faith to Him alone as the One who conquers even death itself.
Interestingly enough, apart from a couple of references to him in the next chapter, we hear nothing more about Lazarus in the Bible, so we know very little about him, but I wonder what must have been going through his mind when he lay on his deathbed for the second time? I’m sure that like us all, he must have been apprehensive at least at the prospect of dying, but having been through the events of John 11, how did he feel, knowing from personal experience that Jesus really is the resurrection and the life?
We know the same truth about Jesus, not that we have returned from the dead, but because of the witness of God’s Word and the historical record we have that even Jesus walked out of His own tomb. For all our intelligence and technology, we know absolutely nothing about the process of death, and how it will actually feel, which is one of many reasons for death to be our greatest enemy. But what we do know is this: Because of Christ, we can face our own deaths with confidence because He has conquered the grave and has promised everlasting life in glory with Him to those who believe in Him.
The raising of Lazarus back to life also gives us a wonderful illustration of conversion and salvation. John emphasises that Jesus called to Lazarus, and by the word of Christ, the dead man was given life. It is by responding to the call of Jesus Christ in the Gospel message, as He says in John 10:27 that we are saved. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
He said in John 5:25, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” Paul writes in Ephesians 2:5 that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but are made alive in Christ. It is God who calls us to life and who enables us to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd as we follow Him. The call of Jesus alone has the power to raise the dead and convert the sinner.
Also, Jesus called Lazarus by name, and in the same way He calls lost sinners to saving faith by name. This is what is known as the effectual call of God, that mighty work by which Christ calls us personally by the Gospel as He draws us with power so that we are able to believe and follow Him.
The Reformation Study Bible uses the raising of Lazarus to explain this important doctrine like this: “When God called the world into being, the universe did not hesitate to comply with the command. God’s desired effect in creation came to pass. Likewise, when Jesus called the dead Lazarus from his grave, Lazarus responded with life. There is also an effectual call of God in the life of the believer. It is a call that brings about its desired effect. Effectual calling is related to the power of God in regenerating the sinner from spiritual death. It is sometimes referred to as irresistible grace. Effectual calling refers to a call of God that by His sovereign power and authority brings about His designed and ordained effect, or result. When Paul teaches that those whom He predestines, He calls, and those whom He calls, He justifies, the call to which he is referring is the effectual call of God.”
Because we are born dead in our trespasses and sins, we are helpless, and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves, but Jesus comes and He calls us by name from death to life. It is only He who can save.
Before coming to Christ we are spiritually dead, we don’t care about God, and we have no interest in acknowledging Him or worshipping Him. That is the state of the non-believing world, but when the call of the Good Shepherd is heard and responded to, we are raised to spiritual life. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.”
This is the spiritual rebirth that Jesus was talking about to Nicodemus in chapter 3, and it is then when true change is seen in our lives, as by the Spirit we are given a hunger and a thirst for God’s truth. We are drawn together in Christian fellowship as we worship together, because we are family. We are given a new desire for the things of God as a result of our spiritual resurrection.
Look at what Jesus said as Lazarus walked out of the tomb. “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’” (John 11:44)
When we are raised to this new life with Christ, why would we want to go around still wearing the grave-clothes of our previous lives of rebellion against God? If we really want to experience the abundant life Jesus offers us, we need to, with God’s help, leave our old lives behind, by exchanging the clothes of death for garments of holiness.
When Jesus began His public ministry, Luke records in chapter 4 that Jesus quoted the first verse and a half of Isaiah 61. We know these words so well, but look at the first 3 verses of Isaiah, with the story of Lazarus so fresh in your mind: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion - to give them a beautiful head-dress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:22-24, “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Have you been saved by the grace of God? Have you responded to Jesus’ call to a new life of holiness, or are you still bound and trapped in the grave-clothes of your rebellion against God? Not only does Jesus call you to be saved, but He also calls you to a whole new life, because He has the power to transform you, but you have to respond personally to His call. He calls you by name. How will you answer Him?
Because that great day is coming when Jesus will return for His own. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise.”
The account of the raising of Lazarus ends with a final, yet important detail, when Jesus said to those who were there, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:44)
This is an illustration of the work and witness of the Church. In verse 39 He told them to remove the stone, and now He tells them to remove Lazarus’ grave-clothes. This teaches us that there is work to be done. It is God who saves. He is the one with the power to bring the dead back to life, but the Church is His chosen instrument to take the Gospel message to the lost.
James Montgomery Boice wrote, “We cannot bring the dead back to life. But we can bring the word of Christ to them. We can do preparatory work, and we can do work afterward. We can help remove stones - stones of ignorance, error, prejudice, and despair. After the miracle we can help the new Christian by unwinding the grave clothes of doubt, fear, introspection, and discouragement.”
And A. W. Pink writes, “There is no higher privilege this side of Heaven than for us to be used of the Lord in rolling away gravestones and removing grave-clothes.”
Homegroup Study Notes
Read John 11:38-44
See verse 27, and compare it to what Martha says in verse 39.
Many commentators argue that Martha’s faith had suddenly let her down, but not all agree with this.
What do you think?
Discuss Jesus’ bold prayer in verses 41 and 42.
This was clearly for the benefit of the people there that day, but why do you think it was necessary for Jesus to pray so publicly?
We are told in John 3:16 that God so loved the world, yet our call to salvation is very personal, as Jesus called Lazarus back to life by name.
What is your understanding of the Reformed doctrine of the “effectual call?”
(www.gotquestions.org has an excellent article on this).
It is God alone who brings sinners to salvation through Jesus, yet as the Church we are called to be faithful proclaimers of the Gospel message.
Discuss the significance of Jesus instructing the people to remove the stone and Lazarus’ grave-clothes.
What does this teach us about the Church’s mission?