Jesus Meets Lazarus

Lazarus falls ill and dies. When the news reaches Jesus, he stays where he is two days longer, and arrives in Bethany only once Lazarus is well and truly dead. Martha reproaches him for not coming before her brother died, and when he tells them to take away the stone, she protests again that after four days there will be a stench.

Jesus came late to show that not Lazarus alone but every human being is powerless to escape death. By raising a man who was utterly dead, he meant to teach that he himself is the Lord of life. Martha, doubting and objecting to the smell, is a picture of humanity itself, bound by sin and shut up in the tomb.

At Jesus’ call to come out, Lazarus walked from the grave, his hands and feet still wrapped in strips of linen. Faith must rest not on a God who will supply one’s needs but on Jesus, the Lord of life. When their own righteousness dies and the precious blood of the cross releases them from sin, people receive new life and go free, just as Lazarus did.