John 11:38–44
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.”
Jesus constantly challenged and encouraged His disciples to walk closer to Him, and to grow in their commitment to Him, and two thousand years later, nothing has changed.
Moving closer to God and the pursuit of Christlikeness should be the driving ambition of all Christians, but interestingly enough, Jesus always used the humanity of His disciples. During His Earthly ministry He embraced and utilised their shortcomings and their often-weak faith, but the glory always went to Him.
His disciples couldn’t die on the Cross on His behalf, but Jesus still took them to Gethsemane to watch and pray with Him.
Peter couldn’t calm a storm, but he was still invited to walk on the water.
The disciples couldn’t feed five thousand people with a small boy’s lunch, but it was they who dished up the meal.
We can’t melt hardened hearts or humble proud spirits, but we can proclaim the Gospel of Christ.
Christians are to be involved in the ministry of Christ.
There are many things which only God can do, but there are also the things that He wants us to do.
We are invited to participate in, and be part of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus had the authority to command Lazarus to ‘come out’, but once that miracle had been performed He turned to His disciples and invited them to be part of what happened that day – Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
2 Corinthians 6:1 says, “Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”
As we walk with Christ and become involved in His ministry, we are blessed by seeing others blessed. In verse 42 Jesus prays to His Father using these words: “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.”
Occasionally there are times when God does things in our lives which make no sense at all, and to us they might seem completely irrelevant, but they are often meant for the benefit of others.
Paul wrote to the Church in Thessalonica, “Encourage one another and build each other up.” In other words, become involved in the ministry of the Church. Allow God to use you to bless others, because through this, you will be blessed.
It is only when we allow God to use us to serve someone else that these words of Jesus will really make sense: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Let’s have a look at Lazarus again. An amazing miracle had happened. A dead man was raised, but there was still a finishing touch to be added.
Lazarus was alive, but he was still wrapped in his grave clothes. He was free, but not quite.
It would have been strange and very tragic if Lazarus had continued to walk around with those garments of death wrapped around him.
The most logical thing to do was to get rid of them, which is exactly what Jesus told the disciples to do. Also, Lazarus would have looked quite ridiculous if he’d insisted on keeping his grave clothes, don’t you think?
But there are people today who have been set free by Christ, who still walk around in their grave clothes. In fact, there are some that unless you actually asked them, you would assume that they’re still dead.
There are Christians all over the world who for some strange and completely illogical reason simply insist on hanging on to their grave clothes, with the result that the look and smell of death remains. There is little or no joy in their salvation.
And then we wonder why others are so sceptical about God.
What is there to attract people to Jesus if all they can see is defeat and death?
When Lazarus came out of that tomb he was moving, but his hands and feet were bound. He probably had to shuffle along as if he was in a sack.
How many Christians are there who, for the simple reason that they are Christians are moving, but their faith shuffles along because they are still bound and tied up in a sack?
How many people are strong enough to admit that they are dying, and are strong enough to walk out of the tomb, but lack the faith to remove their bandages; the souvenirs of the bondage they used to suffer?
How many Christians are steeped in Biblical knowledge and know all the doctrine, but are unable to worship God the way that He wants them to, because of their own unforgiveness and mistrust of other people?
The problem is that this lack of faith not only affects the individual, but it affects the church as well.
The Body of Christ cannot move forward when it is limping along because one of the legs is not working properly because it is bound to the past.
How is the church supposed to get anywhere when it can’t see properly because the eyes are looking backwards instead of forwards?
Too many of us are held back by our sorrow for the past, or our fear of the future.
As Christians we have an obligation to each other.
For those of us who are struggling to throw off our grave clothes, we need to swallow our pride and admit it, and ask for help.
And those of us who can see our brothers and sisters shuffling along but they can’t work because their hands and feet are bound, listen again to the words of Jesus: “Unbind him, and let him go.” Or as the KJV puts it, “Loose him.”
A good friend of ours was very involved in her local church many years ago, and then she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Another person in her church told her that she had cancer because God was punishing her, and she had unconfessed sin in her life.
Our friend didn’t go back to church for decades. Why should she? She was told, “Here are your old grave clothes. Put them back on.”
The church will never be effective out there if we are unable to be effective in here.
Every year about five minutes before the final gun ends the Comrades Marathon we see runners dragging, carrying and pushing other runners in a desperate bid to make the finish.
It’s dramatic stuff, and each year the commentators say the same thing: “This is what the spirit of the Comrades is all about.” And they’re quite right.
There are many athletes each year who have sacrificed their own medals or personal bests in an attempt to help someone else achieve theirs.
If only the church would learn from the examples of these Comrades runners!
If only we would queue up to help remove the grave clothes rather than turn away because we don’t like the smell!
In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth he dealt with many problems that this newly established church was facing. One of them was bickering amongst themselves, and he wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
As the church we are to be united in our mission to remove the grave clothes of death and destruction, as we take this wonderful, glorious message of the hope of the Gospel into the world.
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.”
Jesus constantly challenged and encouraged His disciples to walk closer to Him, and to grow in their commitment to Him, and two thousand years later, nothing has changed.
Moving closer to God and the pursuit of Christlikeness should be the driving ambition of all Christians, but interestingly enough, Jesus always used the humanity of His disciples. During His Earthly ministry He embraced and utilised their shortcomings and their often-weak faith, but the glory always went to Him.
His disciples couldn’t die on the Cross on His behalf, but Jesus still took them to Gethsemane to watch and pray with Him.
Peter couldn’t calm a storm, but he was still invited to walk on the water.
The disciples couldn’t feed five thousand people with a small boy’s lunch, but it was they who dished up the meal.
We can’t melt hardened hearts or humble proud spirits, but we can proclaim the Gospel of Christ.
Christians are to be involved in the ministry of Christ.
There are many things which only God can do, but there are also the things that He wants us to do.
We are invited to participate in, and be part of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus had the authority to command Lazarus to ‘come out’, but once that miracle had been performed He turned to His disciples and invited them to be part of what happened that day – Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
2 Corinthians 6:1 says, “Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”
As we walk with Christ and become involved in His ministry, we are blessed by seeing others blessed. In verse 42 Jesus prays to His Father using these words: “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.”
Occasionally there are times when God does things in our lives which make no sense at all, and to us they might seem completely irrelevant, but they are often meant for the benefit of others.
Paul wrote to the Church in Thessalonica, “Encourage one another and build each other up.” In other words, become involved in the ministry of the Church. Allow God to use you to bless others, because through this, you will be blessed.
It is only when we allow God to use us to serve someone else that these words of Jesus will really make sense: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Let’s have a look at Lazarus again. An amazing miracle had happened. A dead man was raised, but there was still a finishing touch to be added.
Lazarus was alive, but he was still wrapped in his grave clothes. He was free, but not quite.
It would have been strange and very tragic if Lazarus had continued to walk around with those garments of death wrapped around him.
The most logical thing to do was to get rid of them, which is exactly what Jesus told the disciples to do. Also, Lazarus would have looked quite ridiculous if he’d insisted on keeping his grave clothes, don’t you think?
But there are people today who have been set free by Christ, who still walk around in their grave clothes. In fact, there are some that unless you actually asked them, you would assume that they’re still dead.
There are Christians all over the world who for some strange and completely illogical reason simply insist on hanging on to their grave clothes, with the result that the look and smell of death remains. There is little or no joy in their salvation.
And then we wonder why others are so sceptical about God.
What is there to attract people to Jesus if all they can see is defeat and death?
When Lazarus came out of that tomb he was moving, but his hands and feet were bound. He probably had to shuffle along as if he was in a sack.
How many Christians are there who, for the simple reason that they are Christians are moving, but their faith shuffles along because they are still bound and tied up in a sack?
How many people are strong enough to admit that they are dying, and are strong enough to walk out of the tomb, but lack the faith to remove their bandages; the souvenirs of the bondage they used to suffer?
How many Christians are steeped in Biblical knowledge and know all the doctrine, but are unable to worship God the way that He wants them to, because of their own unforgiveness and mistrust of other people?
The problem is that this lack of faith not only affects the individual, but it affects the church as well.
The Body of Christ cannot move forward when it is limping along because one of the legs is not working properly because it is bound to the past.
How is the church supposed to get anywhere when it can’t see properly because the eyes are looking backwards instead of forwards?
Too many of us are held back by our sorrow for the past, or our fear of the future.
As Christians we have an obligation to each other.
For those of us who are struggling to throw off our grave clothes, we need to swallow our pride and admit it, and ask for help.
And those of us who can see our brothers and sisters shuffling along but they can’t work because their hands and feet are bound, listen again to the words of Jesus: “Unbind him, and let him go.” Or as the KJV puts it, “Loose him.”
A good friend of ours was very involved in her local church many years ago, and then she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Another person in her church told her that she had cancer because God was punishing her, and she had unconfessed sin in her life.
Our friend didn’t go back to church for decades. Why should she? She was told, “Here are your old grave clothes. Put them back on.”
The church will never be effective out there if we are unable to be effective in here.
Every year about five minutes before the final gun ends the Comrades Marathon we see runners dragging, carrying and pushing other runners in a desperate bid to make the finish.
It’s dramatic stuff, and each year the commentators say the same thing: “This is what the spirit of the Comrades is all about.” And they’re quite right.
There are many athletes each year who have sacrificed their own medals or personal bests in an attempt to help someone else achieve theirs.
If only the church would learn from the examples of these Comrades runners!
If only we would queue up to help remove the grave clothes rather than turn away because we don’t like the smell!
In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth he dealt with many problems that this newly established church was facing. One of them was bickering amongst themselves, and he wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:10, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
As the church we are to be united in our mission to remove the grave clothes of death and destruction, as we take this wonderful, glorious message of the hope of the Gospel into the world.